EARTH@HOME REGIONAL GUIDES TO THE EARTH SCIENCE OF THE UNITED STATES

Earth@Home is a free, open access website (https://earthathome.org) designed to help students, their teachers, and the wider public learn about Earth science. Significant effort is currently being focused on the development of regional guides—called Here on Earth (https://earthathome.org/hoe/)—to the Earth science of the United States. The goal of Here on Earth is to provide students, their teachers, and the wider public with fundamental information about the Earth in the region where they live.

Here on Earth divides the U.S. into eight major regions: Southeast, South Central, Southwest, West, Hawaii, Northwest Central, Midwest, and Northeast. Some topics on Here on Earth are covered on a regional scale, whereas others are covered at the subregional scale. Topics covered at the regional scale include geologic history, climate, Earth hazards, and, where relevant, glaciers. Topics covered at the subregional scale are divided by physiographic province within a given region and include rocks, fossils, topography, energy, and mineral resources. Earth Science Quick Facts pages are also being developed for each U.S. state; these cover trivia (e.g., state fossil) and places to visit.

Core content for Here on Earth is derived from the Paleontological Research Institution’s Teacher-Friendly Guides to Earth Science book series. Significant updates and additions, especially to the imagery, are being made during the transfer of this content to Earth@Home. Here on Earth regional guides are currently available for the southeastern, south-central, southwestern, and western United States (including Alaska), as well as Hawaii; guides to the remaining U.S. regions will be completed by summer 2023.

Development of the Here on Earth is being supported by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Features of Earth@Home, especially those that are part of Here on Earth, are being promoted through a Science Road Trip social media marketing campaign (https://earthathome.org/roadtrip). The campaign features a cartoon character called Professor Gilbert D. Snail, who explores the Earth science of a new state almost every week. Video workshops (https://earthathome.org/workshops/) are also being held to share Earth@Home resources with teachers from each region.