EXPANDING THE IMPACT OF THE MICHIGAN GEOLOGICAL SURVEY’S COREKIDS PROGRAM: PRODUCTIVE PARTNERSHIPS WITH NON-PROFITS AND REGIONAL AMATEUR GEOLOGY GROUPS

The CoreKids program was established for K-12 outreach by the Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE). MGRRE, now part of the Michigan Geological Survey housed at Western Michigan University, is a core repository with emphasis on the bedrock and glacial geology of the Lower Peninsula. CoreKids has traditionally focused its outreach efforts on classroom visits in which trained staff present hands-on learning activities related to topics of energy, oil and gas, subsurface geology, groundwater issues, environmental geology, natural hazards, and Michigan fossils. The modules are designed to supplement the resources available to area teachers as either classroom visits or field trips to the MGRRE facility. CoreKids operates on grant funding. Over the past year, we have experimented with developing partnerships with local amateur geological and mineralogical societies, regional professional geological societies, and other non-profit organizations in order to increase the reach and impact of our outreach efforts.

A presence at state Science and Earth Science Teaching Association annual conferences increased the number of teachers asking for CoreKids materials and classroom visits. We partnered with the Kalamazoo Geological and Mineral Society (KGMS) to develop a seminar series with quarterly events at the MGRRE facility. Partnerships with the KGMS and other local mineral-collecting clubs included the development of educational activities at their annual mineral shows. We participated in the activities of the Cranbrook Institute of Science’s Rouge River Festival and Fossil Festival events.

The positive results of expanding our partnerships with other entities included a significant increase in our total interactions with both K-12 students and the general public. Participation in other group’s outreach events was more cost-effective. We were able to generate contacts in shorter periods of time and for less cost per interaction. It expanded our area of impact from southwestern Michigan into the rest of southern Michigan and allowed us to provide information, activities and resources to people in the Lansing, Detroit and Grand Rapids regions. As a side benefit, association with other groups increased our visibility, especially when the other entity had resources for event promotion.