STUDENT-RUN GEOLOGY TRIP TO ICELAND

College students can plan and execute successful international geology trips. Seven geology students from the University of Rhode Island planned a trip to Iceland from August 17 to August 28, 2015. They wanted to plan a trip that would allow them to experience as much of the geology of Iceland as possible. For this reason they decided that as a group they would go on a hike, go scuba diving or snorkeling, and go to a hot spring. Hiking the Laugavegurinn trail will allow them to gain field experience by applying what they have learned about mountains, glaciers, hot springs, rivers and lakes in the classroom. Scuba diving and snorkeling will allow them to see the activity at the North American and Eurasian plate boundary. Going to the Blue Lagoon hot spring will them to be able to experience the geothermal-heated waters of the hot springs.

One of the reasons they are able to plan this trip so well is that they make all of the decisions about what they are doing together. Once they decided to go on this trip they met up and went over all of their options for flights, activities and lodging. For example, they decided that while they are hiking they will be camping at the campsites along the trail, and while they are in Reykjavik they will be staying in hostels. When making these decisions they made sure that everything was economical but also enjoyable. They chose activities that pertain to the geologic interests of everyone in the group. There are some days that they left purposefully unplanned from group activities; many people in their group will be collecting samples for research and want to go off on their own to do so.

This trip can be modified to accommodate different groups. Larger groups would need to lodge in the huts along the Laugavegurinn trail, since there is a tent limit on the trail. They would also need to separate into groups to go scuba diving, snorkeling and to the hot spring; there are patron limits for each activity. There are also activities around the country that can fill the days the URI students intentionally left free if groups want to stay together for the entire trip. These include going to the national parks and taking tours around Reykjavik.