Snippets

Here are all the free resources to help you learn and teach about Plate Tectonics. If you are a GEOetc ...
Read More

When we look at the earthquake evidence for Plate Tectonics, one amazing feature is the Benioff Zoned earthquakes that show ...
Read More

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

Just some of the photos from our 2021 Iceland trip. Come join us in Iceland 2022 ...
Read More

Welcome to The Earth Science Teacher. This is the quarterly member's journal of GEOetc.com.   Each quarter a new topic is ...
Read More

Have your students read data from a USGS lava risk map and interpret the most dangerous locations and where they ...
Read More

Often the misconception people have is that lava is the most deadly thing about an erupting volcano!   But this is ...
Read More

Plate Tectonic cycles have been happening on Earth as we know it today - with all its features - for ...
Read More

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

I use mineral and rock collection cards with all my samples - even ones that are still sitting in plastic ...
Read More

In the 1920's a Serbian geophysicist and astronomer called Milutin Milankovitch suggested that long term variations in how the Earth ...
Read More

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

One of the most dramatic geological features found around our planet is columnar jointing formed from the cooling of molten ...
Read More

Traditionally, when we talk about the layers of our planet we talk about the inner core, outer core, mantle, and ...
Read More

When you just start off exploring the wonders of minerals, working out mineral identification can seem a daunting task. It ...
Read More

So you need to buy a for the geologist in your life?   Are you struggling to find something that will ...
Read More

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

Just some of the photos from our 2019 Iceland trips. Come join us in Iceland 2022 More details here ...
Read More

I have spent a lot of time measuring the weathering rates of marble gravestones.  During my studies, I have discovered ...
Read More

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

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

One of the most amazing places on the Earth's is where two massive tectonic plates are moving apart.  Almost 99% ...
Read More

Trying to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) in the classroom can often seem disjointed.  Having a STEM teaching ...
Read More

What are the essential pieces of field gear for a geologist - or in fact any geology enthusiast?   What ...
Read More

Olivine is one of the simplest silicate minerals that can be found in igneous rocks on our planet. All the ...
Read More

So you have been successful in having your topic selected as one of the conference posters.  Good job! Presenting a ...
Read More

While high school students are taught about chemistry using simple examples of inorganic and organic substances, very few are exposed ...
Read More

Too often scientists ignore talking to the public.  They would rather spend all their “communication” time and energy talking about ...
Read More

A geological hammer is often seen as an essential part of any field geologists equipment.   Often called rock picks ...
Read More

Cinder cones are volcanic features that are found at volcanic sites where there has been some form of fountaining activity.  Fire Fountains ...
Read More

The evidence for Plate Tectonics is very conclusive.  It is a very well supported theory, and while scientific debate continues ...
Read More

The Earth's plates don't just sit there.  They move and interact at their boundaries - and that is what makes ...
Read More

The Earth's rocky outerlayer (the lithosphere) is broken up into around seventeen major pieces that we call tectonic plates.   ...
Read More

The Earth's crust - that outermost rocky layer of our planet - can be daunting to understand.   To start ...
Read More

If you are a geoscientist you are going to need field boots.   Even if you are being a "geoscientist" just ...
Read More

Taking solid field notes is a skill that many students are not taught.  The days of a geologist's life recorded ...
Read More

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

Understanding time is something that geoscientists are just great at doing. But we get a little sick of people not understanding ...
Read More

Most people believe that one of the major hazards of volcanoes are lava flows.   They are surprised to find ...
Read More

Diamonds are NOT a girl's best friend - or so I tell my wife.  And here is why. All minerals ...
Read More

Field trips are critical.  Learning Earth science in the field is as important as learning to cook in a kitchen ...
Read More

Cleavage is an important diagnostic feature of minerals.  However it is often misunderstood.  And more often mistaken for another mineral ...
Read More

One of the reasons I fell in love with geology was finding evidence of igneous activity in the form of ...
Read More

Gold - the metal on which many empires have grown (and withered) is a strange metal indeed.  In nature it ...
Read More

An EarthCache is a special place that you can visit using GPS technology to learn more about the geology of ...
Read More

How hard is a mineral?   Geoscientists still use mineral hardness as a way to identify an unknown mineral.  This ...
Read More

We are all looking at ways to collect and display data with our students.  Most of the time the data ...
Read More

Basalt. It's the fine grained igneous rock that makes up the sea floor and sometimes spews forth from volcanoes on ...
Read More

Deep Time is the term used by scientists to describe the vast amount of time that has passed since the ...
Read More

The Permian period of time started around 299 million years ago when the Earth was in the deep freeze of ...
Read More

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