Small Artifact Storage: Stop 15 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. Museum of the West Collections Manager, Matti Fisher, takes us into small artifact storage and explains how the museum cares for historic artifacts.

To prepare for this exercise, the students have been lectured on soil formation and on a field trip, described a simple soil within loess. Here, the students use data collected from a chronosequence to compare the relative age and amount of soil formation on a series of fluvial terraces. The students are to insert the data into a graphic program and generate specific graphs of soil properties. The students then interpret the amount of soil formation compared to the relative age of the fluvial terraces. Finally, the students assess how the 5 soil forming factors (climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time) influenced soil formation in this setting.
Designed for a geomorphology course

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The Soils Laboratory Manual, K-State Edition is designed for students in undergraduate, introductory soil science courses, and highlights the many aspects of soil science, including: soil genesis and classification, soil physical properties, soil-water interaction, soil biology, soil chemistry, and soil fertility. The lab manual includes 15 different laboratories, each one starting with an introduction and pre-lab assignment, followed by in-lab activities, and complimented by post-lab assignment. In-lab activities involve field trips, experiments, observation stations, or problem sets. Post-lab assignments include online quizzes, problem sets, or laboratory summary reports.

Students visit Drayton Hall historic plantation near Charleston, South Carolina and are led on a field trip that starts with a discussion of documented historic changes that have affected the mansion and the surrounding property. The field trip continues with a study of Native American artifacts and ends with analysis of coastal plain deposits exposed along the Ashley River. Students use paleogeographic maps to discuss both historic and prehistoric changes to the landscape. Back in the classroom, students gather data to draw paleogeographic maps of their own school site through geologic time.

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Spanish Explorers: Stop 1 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. Did you know that the Spanish once explored Western Colorado? Curator of History David Bailey describes the armor used by the early Spanish explorers and what life was like for them.

Spanish Explorers and the Mystery of the Redoubt Site: Stop 2 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. Did you know that the Spanish once explored Western Colorado? Why did the Spanish come to Western Colorado and what happened at the Redoubt Site? Curator of History and Director of the Western Investigations Team, David Bailey tells us more about why the Spanish were here and the unsolved mystery of the Redoubt Site.

The Stagecoaches and Mudwagons: Stop 11 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado.

This activity was inspired by the "Pet Rock" project of Daryl Henry. I developed this activity to be a capstone experience for our students. During the fall 4th year field trip, students are responsible for leading their field stop/project, and for collecting samples and measurements while at their stop. Students then analyze their samples/measurements as their term projects in the fall course. In the winter course the class compiles these field trip projects into their classes' field guide. Key Words: Field guide, tectonics, capstone

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This field trip is one that I frequently take undergrad and grad students on, as well as other professionals and nongeologists. It is taylored to the audience. There are some superb teaching opportunities on the trip, both with respect to structural geology on the meso-scale and macroscale, as well as tectonics.

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Over the course of the semester, the course covers many earth science topics that are easily observable on a casual but attentive walk through a natural area. Because the course does not have linked labs or field trips, this assignment attempts to get students to put their observation skills and content knowledge to the test by taking a hike and describing four Earth Science features or processes that they observe. These features and processes might include things like weather, streams, hillslope erosion, soil horizons, habitats or ecological succession.

When I introduce the assignment I spend 15 minutes discussing different places students might choose to take their hike. I make sure to highlight places near campus that can be reached without a car, as well as county parks that freshmen new to the area might not be aware of. Many students also choose to do the assignment on a weekend visit home to their parents and a favorite park or trail.

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Theodore Roosevelt: Stop 10 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. President Theodore Roosevelt was an avid hunter and conservationist. His travels even took him to Colorado! Join David Bailey as he tells us what Roosevelt's visit was like and how he found his dog, Skip, here in Colorado.

Documentary from the early 1980s close to when The Museums of Western Colorado purchased the Cross Orchard site and turned it into a living museum. The documentary shows early community involvement in activities at the museum including historical recreations of early pioneer life in the Grand Valley. The documentary itself is an artifact or primary source of the early 1980s in Grand Junction.

The Thrailkill Firearms Collection: Stop 6 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. Curator of History, David Bailey, explains the history behind the rifles used by mountain men and the guns used by famous and infamous residents of the Wild West!

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Western Mining History tours ten western mining towns that have made significant contributions to their state and mineral extraction in the western United States. The ten featured towns include photos and a brief history. Primary source Historical|Photographs and modern photographs are included. The resource is a nice virtual field trip of 10 significant "wild west" mining towns. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides databases, information on mining, mining towns, gold and Photos and maps of the western United States. This photo gallery provide an excellent collection of primary sources for historical analysis in the classroom. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site. Suggested use: Students might compare the color image to black and white versions on other parts of the Western Mining History site to discuss how color affects our interpretation and response to the image.

In this activity, students will learn how to actually triangulate using a compass, topographical (topo) map and view of outside landmarks. It is best if a field trip to another location away from school is selected. The location should have easily discernable landmarks (like mountains or radio towers) and changes in elevation (to illustrate the topographical features) to enhance the activity. A national park is an ideal location, and visiting a number of parks, especially parks with hiking trails, is especially beneficial.

Western Mining History presents a brief summary of Colorado Mining Towns with links to additional Colorado resources for a mining town database and mines by county. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides information on mining, mining towns, gold and Photos and maps of the western United States. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

The purpose of this project is to develop students' field skills by starting at the outcrop scale and then building on these experiences to create a regional picture of events by visiting multiple sites across NY. Students become proficient and efficient at measuring stratigraphic sections in teams after 5 weeks of field work. We visit eight outcrops within 5 weeks and measure detailed stratigraphic sections at each site. We begin by learning how to measure a detailed ~6 m thick stratigraphic section of siliciclastic rocks exposed in a local state park (that students visited during their introductory physical geology course) using a Jacob staff and Brunton. The outcrop is comprised of only 3 lithologies, but many sedimentary structures (bioturbation, flute casts, drag marks, groove casts, asymmetric ripples (plan view) and trough cross-beds). These lithofacies repeat several times even within the ~6 m measured section as these are turbidite deposits. We return to the lab after measuring the section and students work up their field data to construct a detailed, hand-drawn stratigraphic section for the first time. Students also make paleocurrent measurements in the field when possible and learn to plot these pooled class data during the next class meeting. For the other local sections, students perform the same field observations and measurements. At these locales, several formations crop out and students learn to recognize them based on their lithologic and paleontologic composition. Both carbonate and siliciclastic rocks occur at these sites. During the 3-day weekend field trip, students measure three stratigraphic sections of Lower Devonian through Middle Devonian strata and recognize that, for example, western NY lacks the Helderberg carbonate sequence and that the Oriskany Sandstone is thicker and laterally continuous in eastern NY rather than the lenses that crop out in central-western NY. Students also realize that the Hamilton Group changes character as they march across NY, building on their reading of Walther's Law in Boggs (2006) and their in-class stratigraphic correlation (lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy) exercises from Fichter and Poche (2001) completed prior to the weekend field trip.

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Western Mining History presents a short tour of underground hoist construction at the US Mine in Bingham, Utah. Western Mining History is an historical site that provides databases, information on mining, mining towns, gold and Photos and maps of the western United States. Consider becoming a member or making a donation to help further the work of the site.

The Uranium Boom: Stop 9 Museum of the West Virtual Tour. Watch this short video to learn about a Museum of the West exhibit or collection to preview your field trip or for a virtual field trip if you are unable to attend in person. The Museum of the West is part of the Museums of Westen Colorado. The Uranium boom made Grand Junction famous. Its nickname became “The City That Glows.” David Bailey explains the effect the Uranium boom had on Grand Junction.