ENCOURAGING AWARENESS AND APPRECIATION OF GEOLOGY: HANDS-ON AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS AT THE GREATER MIAMI VALLEY YMCA

With the increasing need for natural resources and growing concerns about the environment, students with knowledge of geology and earth sciences are becoming more in demand. However, most American students lack science proficiency and those from lower income communities consistently demonstrate low-level science skills. As such, we wanted to increase the appreciation and awareness of geology among junior high school students. A team of 3 individuals, two graduate students and one professor, arranged 3 after-school visits at a local YMCA. The Greater Miami Valley YMCA serves an ethnically diverse community with typically low to moderate family incomes. In addition to stressing geological principals, we also focused on the economic advantages and possible career options that come from having a higher education. The after-school sessions were approximately an hour in length and open to local 7^th and 8^th grade students. The youth coordinator at the YMCA advertised the after-school program, drawing 6-8 students for each session. While a different set of students were in attendance for each session, we had both female and male students. The after-school programs consisted of an initial survey, short lecture, hands-on activity and a final questionnaire. We covered 3 broad categories of mineralogy, seismology, and volcanology, and focusing on main themes of rocks and minerals, plate boundaries and seismic waves, volcanic eruptions and the earth’s interior. The final questionnaires asking about major themes from the sessions were successfully answered. The high level of student engagement during each session suggests that the YMCA serves as a valuable venue to increase student science literacy in an informal and non-threatening environment.