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2023

2024

Earth Science Snippets

Geocache on Hawaii’s Active Volcanoes – October 2023

Geoaware, (Gary Lewis of GEOetc), leads..... Geocache on Hawaii's Active Volcanoes 2023 A trip for geocachers from around the globe ...
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Discover Hawaii’s Active Volcanoes – Educators July 2024

Gary Lewis, GEOetc, leads..... Discover Hawaii's Active Volcanoes Early July 2024 Trips for STEM & Geography Educators and friends. Pre-service ...
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Discover Iceland – Fire and Ice on a Mid-Ocean Ridge 2024 (Educators)

Discover Iceland - Fire and Ice on a Mid-Ocean Ridge  July 2024 Join our trip email list - and we will ...
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Which way is up?

As the rocks on our planet are continually being moved around by Plate Tectonics, it is rare to find layers ...
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Discover Iceland – Fire and Ice on a Mid-Ocean Ridge 2023 (Educators) TRIP FULL

Discover Iceland - Fire and Ice on a Mid-Ocean Ridge 23-29 July 2023 Our trip is full - but we are ...
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Geocache Iceland – 2023 (TRIP FULL)

Geocache Iceland 2023 20-26 August 2023 (dates to be confirmed) Get on the waiting list - Join our email list  ...
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GEOetc Plate Tectonics Resources

Here are all the free resources to help you learn and teach about Plate Tectonics. If you are a GEOetc ...
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Benioff Zones – earthquake evidence for subduction

When we look at the earthquake evidence for Plate Tectonics, one amazing feature is the Benioff Zoned earthquakes that show ...
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Galapagos Islands and Ecuador Andes Mountains, July 2022 (TRIP FULL)

Dr. Dan Kelley, geologist, and educator leads... Galapagos Islands and Ecuador Andes Mountains Students, Recent Graduates, Educators, and others 9-17 July, ...
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Are our school students really scientists?

I think it is wonderful that we are having students ask meaningful questions and undertaking studies to try and answer ...
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Iceland 2021 Photos

Just some of the photos from our 2021 Iceland trip ...
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TESTeacher Earthquakes – Free version

Welcome to The Earth Science Teacher. This is the quarterly member's journal of GEOetc.com.   Each quarter a new topic is ...
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The Volcanoes of Italy – July 2023 (TRIP FULL)

Gary Lewis, GEOetc and Chris Spencer, TravelingGeologist, lead... The Volcanoes of Italy A trip for Earth Science & Geography Teachers ...
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Discover Iceland – Fire and Ice on a Mid-Ocean Ridge 2022 (TRIP FULL)

Discover Iceland - Fire and Ice on a Mid-Ocean Ridge 7-13 August 2022 TRIP ANNOUNCEMENT - Join our email list for ...
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Lava Risk – map interpretation

Have your students read data from a USGS lava risk map and interpret the most dangerous locations and where they ...
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Lava won’t kill you but these six things could!

Often the misconception people have is that lava is the most deadly thing about an erupting volcano!   But this is ...
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Plate Tectonic Cycles

Plate Tectonic cycles have been happening on Earth as we know it today - with all its features - for ...
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Discover Hawaii’s Active Volcanoes – Educators July 2022 (NOW FULL)

Gary Lewis, GEOetc, leads..... Discover Hawaii's Active Volcanoes 3-9 July 2022 Trips for STEM & Geography Educators and friends. Pre-service ...
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Weathering – looking for evidence (Listen to Podcast then an activity)

This is an activity where students listen to a 10-minute podcast on Weathering (Podcast is here) and then use what ...
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Mineral and Rock Collection cards

I use mineral and rock collection cards with all my samples - even ones that are still sitting in plastic ...
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Milankovitch cycles – the Earth in space and climate.

In the 1920's a Serbian geophysicist and astronomer called Milutin Milankovitch suggested that long term variations in how the Earth ...
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Geology of the United Kingdom – 2022

Geology of the United Kingdom The Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, England and the NW Highlands Geopark, Scotland 18-28 July ...
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Earth Science over a Virtual Coffee

We are currently dealing with changes in the way we communicate with each and our students due to the COVID-19 ...
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Columnar jointing

One of the most dramatic geological features found around our planet is columnar jointing formed from the cooling of molten ...
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What is the Lithosphere?

Traditionally, when we talk about the layers of our planet we talk about the inner core, outer core, mantle, and ...
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Mineral Identification – a guide.

When you just start off exploring the wonders of minerals, working out mineral identification can seem a daunting task. It ...
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Gifts for Geologists & Rockhounds

So you need to buy a for the geologist in your life?   Are you struggling to find something that will ...
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So you want to run a field trip? 20 tips and tricks!

So you want to run a field trip? I have been leading field trips for over 30 years, and have ...
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Iceland 2019 Photos

Just some of the photos from our 2019 Iceland trips. Come join us in Iceland 2022 More details here ...
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Climate change and understanding science

I have spent a lot of time measuring the weathering rates of marble gravestones.  During my studies, I have discovered ...
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Why I don’t start Earth science by teaching rock and mineral identification

Many educators who are not Earth science trained, and many who are, flounder when trying to work out the best ...
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Understanding Polar Reversals

Understanding polar reversals helps us to understand an important piece of evidence for Plate Tectonics. When molten rock cools, some ...
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Divergent Plate Boundaries

One of the most amazing places on the Earth's is where two massive tectonic plates are moving apart.  Almost 99% ...
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Volcanoes as a STEM teaching tool

Trying to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in the classroom can often seem disjointed.  Having a STEM teaching ...
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Geologist Field Gear – the six “H” essentials!

What are the essential pieces of field gear for a geologist - or in fact any geology enthusiast?   What ...
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Olivine – one of simplest rock-forming minerals

Olivine is one of the simplest silicate minerals that can be found in igneous rocks on our planet. All the ...
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Conference Posters – tips to make an impact

So you have been successful in having your topic selected as one of the conference posters.  Good job! Presenting a ...
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Silicates – a simple guide to the Earth’s rock forming minerals

While high school students are taught about chemistry using simple examples of inorganic and organic substances, very few are exposed ...
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Geoscientists need to talk to the public

Too often scientists ignore talking to the public.  They would rather spend all their “communication” time and energy talking about ...
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Geological hammer – a beginners guide to buying your “forever hammer”

A geological hammer is often seen as an essential part of any field geologists equipment.   Often called rock picks ...
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Cinder Cones – a unique volcanic feature.

Cinder cones are volcanic features that are found at volcanic sites where there has been some form of fountaining activity.  Fire Fountains ...
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Evidence for Plate Tectonics

The evidence for Plate Tectonics is very conclusive.  It is a very well supported theory, and while scientific debate continues ...
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Boundaries – how the plates interact

The Earth's plates don't just sit there.  They move and interact at their boundaries - and that is what makes ...
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Plates – understanding the tectonic jigsaw pieces.

The Earth's rocky outerlayer (the lithosphere) is broken up into around seventeen major pieces that we call tectonic plates.   ...
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The Earth’s Crust – a simple way to view it.

The Earth's crust - that outermost rocky layer of our planet - can be daunting to understand.   To start ...
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Field Boots – an essential piece of equipment.

If you are a geoscientist you are going to need field boots.   Even if you are being a "geoscientist" just ...
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Field Notes – what students need to learn to do.

Taking solid field notes is a skill that many students are not taught.  The days of a geologist's life recorded ...
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There’s mica in my toaster!

Mica has been used for many purposes over time and even in my short lifetime I have seen it in ...
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Space Geeks Timeline

Understanding time is something that geoscientists are just great at doing. But we get a little sick of people not understanding ...
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Lava flows – can you outrun a lava flow?

Most people believe that one of the major hazards of volcanoes are lava flows.   They are surprised to find ...
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Diamonds are NOT a girl’s best friend

Diamonds are NOT a girl's best friend - or so I tell my wife.  And here is why. All minerals ...
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Field trips – they are critical for teachers!

Field trips are critical.  Learning Earth science in the field is as important as learning to cook in a kitchen ...
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Spot the cleavage – a characteristic often misunderstood.

Cleavage is an important diagnostic feature of minerals.  However it is often misunderstood.  And more often mistaken for another mineral ...
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I love a dike – my geology hook.

One of the reasons I fell in love with geology was finding evidence of igneous activity in the form of ...
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Not all that glitters is gold!

Gold - the metal on which many empires have grown (and withered) is a strange metal indeed.  In nature it ...
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EarthCache – Let the Earth be your teacher!

An EarthCache is a special place that you can visit using GPS technology to learn more about the geology of ...
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How hard is mineral hardness?

How hard is a mineral?   Geoscientists still use mineral hardness as a way to identify an unknown mineral.  This ...
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Using a Circular Data Calendar

We are all looking at ways to collect and display data with our students.  Most of the time the data ...
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The strange thing about Basalt.

Basalt. It's the fine grained igneous rock that makes up the sea floor and sometimes spews forth from volcanoes on ...
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How long is deep time?

Deep Time is the term used by scientists to describe the vast amount of time that has passed since the ...
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What happened in the Permian?

The Permian period of time started around 299 million years ago when the Earth was in the deep freeze of ...
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Welcome to GEOetc

G'day, Howdy and Hi, My name is Gary Lewis and I am an enthusiastic and passionate geoscientist.  I grew up ...
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