MESTA Rocks!
Earth Science Teachers meet at Michigan Tech

Some of the MESTA participants at the Quincy Mine

Quincy Mine

In photos here, earth science teachers are engaged in a Paleomagnetism Field/Lab Experience

Michigan Earth Science Teachers Association (MESTA) Conference is being held at Michigan Technological University August 15-19, 2012. The conference is a joint conference with the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA). Field trips and workshops are going on all over the Keweenaw area.

Among some of the many activities for the earth science teachers include:

• Caledonia Mine, Keweenaw Copper Mine Company (Centenniel Mine), Red Metals Minerals Shop (Ontonagon), and the Porcupine Mountains with Richard Whiteman
• Copper Harbor Keweenaw Geology Field Trip with Dr. Bill Rose
• Paleomagnetism Field/Lab Experience with Dr. Aleksey Smirnov and Kari Anderson.
• Keweenaw Gem and Gift Mineral Preparation: Copper pours, Lapidary and Stone; Polishing, and Copper Cleaning with Ken Flood
• Quincy Mine Hoist and Keweenaw National Historic Park
• Seaman Mineral Museum and Lectures: Keweenaw Geology with Dr. Ted Bornhorst and Copper Crystallography with Dr. John A. Jaszczak.
• Lake Superior research work examined aboard the Agassiz Dr. Martin Auer
• MESTA Awards Banquet Keynote Speaker: Dr. Larry Lankton: "The Rock Overhead: A Matter of Life and Death."
• Earlier Earth: Marquette Area Field Trip with Dr. Bill Rose
• 16 other educational presentations

In just one example of the many activities, earth science teachers will see some of the Earth Magnetism Laboratory at Michigan Tech and its research projects including investigating the magnetism of Keweenawan basalts, how two billion year old rocks in India record changes in the Earth’s magnetic field, and correlations between behavior of the Earth’s magnetic field and our climate.

Teachers can participate in a short course of hands-on exploration into paleomagnetism. They will examine local Keweenawan basalts for their magnetic signature and magnetic mineralogy. Participants will receive a brief overview of what members of the EML do and the purpose served; an introduction to field methods, including use of magnetic and sun compasses and the rock drill; sample preparation; and laboratory methods.

Photos at left and below illustrate just some of the many activities that were available for teachers.

All day Saturday MESTA held workshops for teachers.

Activties included:

• Simply Sand: Using Sand as a Guided Inquiry Activity
• Shake Shake Shake” Building an Earthquake Table
• Discovering Plate Tectonics
• What would Galileo do?
• GeoWebFace - Michigan Geology in a web browser
• Determining Earth’s Internal Structure - Online Seismographs
• Walking Through Time in Michigan; Michigan Geology in 460 Steps
• Igniting Curiosity through Discrepant Events
• Mining and Geology of the Keweenaw Peninsula and Marquette County of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: The importance of copper and iron to the culture and economy.
• Activitiies in Earth Science
• Searching for Aliens with SETI and NASA
• Grand Canyon Story Constructed by Students

Teachers in the Earth Magnetism Laboratory at Michigan Tech