PUBLIC PALEONTOLOGICAL SITES AS TEACHING TOOLS IN GEOLOGY FIELD CAMPS: RESOURCE PROTECTION THROUGH RESOURCE EDUCATION

The summer field camp program at the University of Wyoming (UW) was founded in 1923 by Samuel H. Knight of UW and James Kemp of Columbia University. These renowned geologists built the summer field program into one of national acclaim by utilizing Wyoming’s unique geological resources to teach important concepts. Today, UW’s field camp continues to attract students from around the country, exposing them to the wonders of western geology in Wyoming and neighboring states. Over the past decade, the class has successfully utilized world-class paleontological field sites under active study by UW students and staff. This holistic, hands-on approach weaves together paleontology, sedimentology and stratigraphy, as well as public outreach and resource management practice.

Two unique ichnological sites have been utilized in class activities. The Middle Jurassic Red Gulch Dinosaur Tracksite in the Bighorn Basin of northern Wyoming and the Late Jurassic Seminoe Reservoir Tracksite in central Wyoming are managed (by the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation respectively) and preserved for current and future generations. Although most paleontological sites are unavailable for public visitation, public land sites such as these can be unique educational tools. Student activities at these sites range from scientific documentation and interpretation to management and protection discussions, exposing students to concepts of resource protection through resource education and allowing greater appreciation of public lands and resources. Working in small groups, summer camp participants make observations, collect data, and develop their own interpretations regarding the geologic history of particular localities. Importantly, researchers actively working at the sites visited with the field program’s students to walk them thought the actual process of investigation, interpretation, and management. Thus, students were exposed to both traditional (e.g., on the ground measuring and mapping) and state-of –the art documentation technologies (e.g., photogrammetry) and learned where research observations interface with research interpretations.