STORIES IN STONE: BRINGING EARTH'S HISTORY TO LIFE THROUGH GEOLOGICAL FICTION

In the realm of geoscience communication, the challenge lies in making Earth's rich history accessible and captivating to a wide audience. Traditional methods tell geological facts from the perspective of a scientist that looks back in time or explains geological processes as they happen. These narrative struggles to convey the magnitude and drama of geological processes that shape Earth over enormous time spans and at extremely slow pace. I explore a new approach: storytelling through geological fiction. Drawing inspiration from books and films of historical fiction such as “Oppenheimer” or “The Crown”, I seek to convey geological facts through stories infused by action, drama, and romance. I crafted short stories narrated from the perspective of a mineral and fossil character, unraveling their millions of years-long lives. I aim to captivate new audiences and facilitate effortless absorption of scientific knowledge by allowing the reader to follow a character as they experience processes of crystallization, weathering, sediment transport, burial, metamorphism, or faulting. The majestic landscape of the Canadian Rocky Mountains is the stage for this geological drama. The culmination of this effort is a roadside geology book “Rocky Voices” that guides visitors to scenic places in the Rockies. In this presentation, I will explain the methodology behind crafting these data-rich narratives and developing distinct personalities for minerals such as zircon, apatite, calcite, clay, coal, and a water droplet. In total, these character stories summarize the diverse history of earth material that formed in the Archean to only a few thousand years ago, long before and after the mountain building of the Rockies. Drawing from my experiences presenting to audiences spanning ages 6 to 90, I will share valuable feedback and insights learned from interactions, detailing how they have informed both my teaching and research endeavors as a university professor and my outreach activities.