USING THE PAINT MINES, COLORADO TO LEARN FIELD AND LABORATORY TECHIQUES

The use of a geologically controversial area to develop an understanding of field science is often difficult to locate. In the prairies of central Colorado are the Paint Mines. A badlands that has been identified by various geologists as an alluvial fan projection from the early Rocky Mountains or a lake deposit, either of late Cretaceous or mid-Tertiary age. The two possibilities help the area to become a very useful location to train students in many areas of field and laboratory techniques. The area is presently being used to instruct students from 4th to 8th grade and college students. Their use of the information and data collected and studied illustrates how difficult interpretations of the geologic past can be.

The students visit various locations for several weeks within the Paint Mines. They determine what samples and questions need to be collected and answered, complete a general to specific stratigraphic column, and develop a geologic map. To complete the above assignments they will study the formations, the stratigraphy, and the environments of deposition.

Depending on what information is gained, one of the two or a combination of the previously mentioned possibilities is identified. If not all the necessary information is determined, due to both improper or incomplete field and laboratory data, that information is made available. They are then free to modify their conclusions with a specific reasoning for the change and an explanation of why they believe they did not try to gain the necessary data. The complete investigation helps them to become aware of the difficulty in completing geologic field and laboratory investigations. They also become skeptical about the conclusions of others and start questioning the results of other studies.

Although the different levels of the students make the completeness of the final work different, the actual techniques learned do not vary greatly. The evaluation of the course is very high with evaluation grades varying from A to B+ from all students.