GEOLOGY SUMMER CAMP: CREATING TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES FOR ASPIRING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

In June 2017, the Department of Earth Sciences partnered with the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Arkansas Little Rock to host a free, one-week residential summer geology camp for high school students. The goal was to offer a transformative experience for students by engaging them in a variety of classroom, laboratory, and field activities covering a range of geology topics. Five students, originating from different regions in Arkansas, participated in this inaugural summer camp. The primary project involved geologic field mapping; an assignment adapted from one of our college level field method courses. Campers were instructed in the basics of orienteering, topography, rock identification, structural geology, and geologic time. Lessons were tiered through topic specific activities, culminating in the development of a complete geologic map. Campers also participated in off-campus field trips, including visits to Hot Springs National Park, the Mid-America Science Museum, a wastewater treatment plant, and an active quartz mine. As a final project, campers created science fair style posters to describe their experiences, and subsequently presented these to an audience that included their parents, instructors, counselors, and other camp organizers.

Camp instructors were interested in two main assessment questions: 1) How successful is the camp at altering campers career interests to include geology?, and 2) Would campers be interested in furthering their experience by attending a follow-up 2018 geology camp? Data from pre- and post-camp surveys showed a 60% increase in the number of campers considering geology as a career, and 80% intend to apply to the 2018 Geology Camp. One student said, “This camp was fun. I really enjoyed going out to do field mapping. I’ll definitely be thinking about coming back next year.” A local newspaper reported that one student “discovered her life’s calling while attending the…camp”, and intends to use geology to “fix this world”. The student voices speak strongly to the high quality of the camp experience. For faculty concerned with motivating high school students to major in geology, the model provided here should prove useful to those interested in offering camps as a way to catapult students on a trajectory towards a geology career.