A MULTIDISCIPLINARY EXPLORATION OF NATURE BASED BOTH IN THE FIELD AND ON THE INTERNET

Earth scientists have made significant progress in promoting the view of the Earth as a complex system. It has become clear that to comprehend this complex system, one must have a strong background in all of the sciences. Unfortunately, most disciplines of science are still well-segregated making it quite difficult for the student to learn physical relationships that cross traditional academic boundaries. The goal of the “Field Map” project is to bring together students interested in different disciplines of science and inspire them to take a closer look at what they share in common, i.e. Nature.

The web site (http://www.fieldmap.org) contains a collection of five field-based projects that each produce results which vary regionally. The projects are organized by discipline in order to be more attractive to students who have a bias toward a certain field. The projects include determining the prevailing wind direction from trees sculpted by wind (meteorology), comparing the pH of rain and surface water (chemistry), identifying common trees (biology), measuring the declination and inclination of the geomagnetic field (physics), and identifying rocks (geology). Outcomes are tied to the National Science Education Standards and the AAAS Benchmarks. There is an emphasis on artistic field notes and topographic base maps which makes these exercises seem more exciting and relevant to the student.

To facilitate the discovery process, there is a virtual map room and a three-dimensional virtual view of a real field area located somewhere in the United States. It is the job of the student to explore the field area virtually, inspect real field data, and then refer to the maps in the map room to narrow down the possible location of the field area. This will require that the student compares and contrasts the data from maps created by professionals (e.g. gravity, soil type, and topography) as well as the data that they helped map. Three short videos will further help students understand the cause of the regional variation seen on the maps as well as relationships between different variables. We believe that by seeing how their local data fit into the grander scheme, students will be motivated to try the projects from other disciplines and continue to broaden their interest in studying Nature.