The 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 Dr. Jennifer Hargrave is coordinating a project to help elementary students learn about subjects such as tsunamis, the Earth小蝌蚪APP檚 core and deep sea fossils.
Hargrave is an instructor in UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 and associate curator of the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 Geology Museum. The school is posting weekly videos to its YouTube channel that are narrated by geosciences students.
The five short videos are 小蝌蚪APP渋ntended to provide a springboard for instruction in elementary classrooms, and inspire careers in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields,小蝌蚪APP she explained.
Hargrave is hopeful the videos will also serve as previews to a larger attraction 小蝌蚪APP the "In Search of Earth's Secrets" exhibit funded by the National Science Foundation. The School of Geosciences landed the traveling exhibit last year for a scheduled six-week stay after stopovers at James Madison, Penn State and Rutgers universities.
UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 turn to host the exhibit, however, coincided with state and national bans on large gatherings to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. As a result, its assortment of kiosks, large screens that broadcast educational videos, and interactive science-related activities currently sit unexplored in the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 . The exhibit小蝌蚪APP檚 inflatable 小蝌蚪APP減op-up小蝌蚪APP ship that can be transported to large public events is also moored there during the pandemic.
The museum小蝌蚪APP檚 4,500-square feet of exhibit and research space holds UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 collection of fossils, minerals and rocks. It is housed inside the Lafayette Science Museum downtown. Both museums remain closed.
The School of Geosciences is in the process of trying to coordinate a full, six-week run for "In Search of Earth's Secrets" once the exhibit is able to start moving again. In the meantime, elementary students and teachers can learn about science beneath the ocean小蝌蚪APP檚 floor via the videos.
Video content 小蝌蚪APP like the exhibit 小蝌蚪APP is based on research conducted aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a 470-foot long research ship capable of drilling beneath the ocean floor. The vessel collects samples of the Earth小蝌蚪APP檚 core for geological studies as part of the NSF-funded International Ocean Discovery Program.
The videos explore topics such as earthquakes that spawn tsunamis, deep sea fossils and processes employed to conduct research beneath the sea floor.
In the first video, geosciences graduate teaching assistant Gail Choisser explains how scientists drill into the ocean floor with narrow, hollow tubes. The tubes can be opened lengthwise inside laboratories, exposing cylindrical sections of sediment for layer-by-layer study.
小蝌蚪APP淚t小蝌蚪APP檚 like cutting into a cake to find all the layers inside. But instead of cutting a slice out, we leave the rest of the layer cake - the sea floor - relatively undisturbed by taking a thin tube of sea floor out instead,小蝌蚪APP Choisser explains during the video.
Learn how to
Graphic: As part of the "In Search of Earth's Secrets" program, UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 School of Geosciences is posting short videos to its YouTube channel to teach children about subjects such as tsunamis, the Earth小蝌蚪APP檚 core and deep sea fossils. Graphic credit: International Ocean Discovery Program