A week-long earth-system sciences workshop for middle school teachers, coordinated by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the St. Vrain School District, will begin June 23 at Longmonts Skyline High School.
About 20 faculty members, research associates and graduate students from the CU-Boulder-based Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and representatives of local and state agencies will work with 27 teachers during the workshop. The event, part of the CIRES K-12 outreach program, will include hands-on activities and outdoor observations for teachers and cover such topics as geology, astronomy, water use and air quality.
The workshop is sponsored by CIRES, the St. Vrain school district, the State of Colorado, the Eisenhower Program for Mathematics and Science Education and CONNECT, a National Science Foundation math and science initiative. Designed to help teachers meet district science proficiencies, the outreach effort is being coordinated by CIRES research associates Alex Weaver and Susan Buhr and CU-Boulder education school doctoral student Kenneth Emo.
In addition to presentations by scientists, the workshop will include a field trip to observe local geologic features around the Rabbit Mountain Open Space area southeast of Lyons on June 24.
Daily presentations will be made by CU-Boulder faculty and researchers as well as representatives from the City of Longmont, the City of Boulder and the St. Vrain School District. CIRES is a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.