ENGAGING GEOSCIENCE STUDENTS BY UTILIZING A COLLEGE ART MUSEUM

Students enrolled in introductory geoscience courses at Skidmore College come to the classroom with a variety of motivations, attitudes, and levels of engagement with geoscience topics. Through activities that utilize the exhibitions, collections, and galleries of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum at the college, students engage with geoscience topics in new and perhaps unexpected ways. By exploring concepts and practicing skills at the intersection of science and art, students who are “science anxious” have the opportunity to feel more confident and adept. Strong science students can apply their skills in novel ways and consider the interdisciplinary nature of the geosciences through a new lens. Working with staff at a college art museum, instructors can develop activities to engage a wide range of students in dynamic and interdisciplinary ways that illuminate the relevance of the geosciences beyond the classroom. Examples of some museum-based geoscience activities will be shared.