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Fossils of the Black Belt 21 (2021) — a Hands-on Field Workshop

The Geological Survey of Alabama and the University of West Alabama take the lead in presenting Fossils of the Black Belt 21, the latest in a long-running series of annual field paleontology workshops for teachers. This year's workshop will focus on paleoecology and paleoenvironmental analysis, the science of understanding environments and living things of the distant past.

The workshop will be in two parts. In part one, Alabama paleontologists will present the geologic history of West Alabama, the origin and nature of the chalk, as well as methods and aims of paleoecology and paleoenvironmental analysis. These lectures will be prerecorded and delivered via Zoom. They will be viewable beginning a few days before the field workshop, and you can watch them whenever it's convenient. The field workshop will take place on Tuesday October 12 on a large chalk outcrop near Selma. You will divide into groups and, by examining the chalk and its fossils, develop hypotheses about the origin of the chalk. This field activity will be conducted using social distancing, and masks will be required. Depending on the nature of the health crisis at that time, and the possibility of severe weather, the field activity may need to be canceled. If this happens, we will mail the guidebook, Jim Lacefield's book, and all other handouts, to registrants. The Zoom lectures will be provided even if the field workshop is canceled.

We will meet at Harrell Station, a productive Cretaceous fossil site on private land near Selma, Alabama. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, October 12 2021. The cost is $28 for this one-day workshop. This includes lunch and a vast array of science-education goodies, including the famed book by Jim Lacefield, Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks (a $25 value).

To register, please contact Dr. David Kopaska-Merkel, 205-246-9346, dkm@gsa.state.al.us.

 

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The Werewolf Earns a Living


By day, she teaches five-year-olds
by night, she knits or dances
unless the moon is full – then she hunts
but only outside the school district

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teachers' painted feet
and so many door prizes
sci ed happens

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K-12 teachers in Alabama! Get a free copy (for your school) of the book that explains the geologic history of the state. Profusely illustrated, and aimed at high school students and above, this book is one of the best ever written about the geology of any state. The first edition sold out long ago, which is a good thing, because the second edition is even better. That's the one you will get if you follow the directions below, which are very very simple.

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So the Alabama Science Teachers Association is meeting here in Tuscaloosa this year. Stop me if I have already told you about this. I decided to do a workshop about fossil footprints. Specifically, about trackways. Years ago I found this really cute activity where you step in paint, walk on paper, and then measure things, calculate other things, and, hopefully, realize that you can learn a lot from fossil footprints. I actually presented this to the same group years ago, but there is so much turnover among teachers (because they are treated like crap) that for most of them this would be a new experience. I recently discovered that the ASTA doesn't accept every single workshop proposal that is submitted, although I still think it's pretty close. But if they don't accept this one, it will be because the owner of the facility doesn't want people walking in paint on their floors. I have a plan for that, but I think if they say no they're going to say no before they hear about my plan. I guess I need to email the workshop organizer and make my pitch before it is too late! It involves using a large tarp and trusting teachers to be tidy. I can do that, can't I? Stay tuned.

Paleontology Field Workshop for Teachers

Field Workshop — Paleontology of the Black Belt of Alabama

The Geological Survey of Alabama, the University of West Alabama, Discovering Alabama, the Alabama Geological Society, and the Birmingham Paleontological Society have collaborated for 20 years on an annual one-day field workshop in paleontology. This workshop is specifically aimed at K-12 teachers, but other kinds of educators are welcome to participate. The workshop is held on a Tuesday in October (the dry season) at a privately owned large fossil-rich outcrop, to which we have access for this purpose.

The Black Belt is a swath across central Alabama, named for its rich soil.

Last year, we focused on studying evidence of interactions among ancient organisms. This year, our focus will be using fossils to understand the stratigraphy, the layering of different kinds of rocks, in the field area.

Here are some photographs from past expeditions. We always find many kinds of fossils. In the past, these have included two pterosaurs, a brittle star, a mosasaur jaw, and a sea turtle shell.

At the bottom, is a registration form. We hope you will join us this coming fall!

Heading out to the field site.



Final instructions.

Scenery not to be sneezed at.

A fish vertebra just lying on the ground waiting to be picked up.



Conversations in the field.

Shark teeth from many species can be found here.

As well as many other things.



See!

All kinds of teeth.

Oysters and other kinds of shells are common.

All kinds of free publications for teachers to take home. Lunch and snacks are provided. We will help you identify the fossils that you find. You get to take them home, unless you find something truly remarkable. Those specimens go into the museum, with you listed as the collector.

Use this form to register, or email me at dkm@gsa.state.al.us

Fossils of the Black Belt 2018-2019

This workshop is held every year in October. Here are some photographs from 2018, taken by Vicki Lais. We were studying what fossils can tell us about interactions among organisms.

Fossils of the Black Belt 20 (2019)  — a Hands-on Field Workshop

The Geological Survey of Alabama and the University of West Alabama take the lead in presenting Fossils of the Black Belt 20, the latest in a long-running series of annual field paleontology workshops for teachers. This year's workshop will focus on biostratigraphy, the science of what fossils can tell us about the layering and ages of rocks. We will meet at Harrell Station, a productive Cretaceous fossil site on private land near Selma, Alabama. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, October 15, 2019. The cost is $28 for this one-day workshop. This includes lunch and a vast array of science-education goodies, including the famed book by Jim Lacefield, Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks (a $25 value).

To register, please contact Dr. David Kopaska-Merkel, 205-247-3695, dkm@gsa.state.al.us.

Some of the free stuff.

The field site.

Fossil worm tubes, Hamulus.

A teacher, finding cool fossils.

Marking an important find for future excavation. We found a pterosaur!

A wide variety of mollusks here, especially, so many kinds of oysters.

Teeth are common: shark, fish, mosasaur.

A shark tooth.

This teacher is armed.

I missed the joke, but this teacher found more than anybody else.

A baby mosasaur jaw.

Fossil hunting.

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Spent the day at the Alabama Science Teachers Ass'n mtg, which this yr was in Tuscaloosa. Spoke on fossil reefs, to a receptive group. Attended a v good wkshop on teaching evolution. Talked to some friends & made a few new ones. Talked up our fossil workshop.

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You are almost out of time to sign up for the October 16 paleontology workshop for teachers in West Alabama. This is a one-day field workshop, inexpensive, but valuable.. You will get lots of free stuff, including the fantastic book "Lost worlds in Alabama rocks." you will spend the day learning about interactions among fossil species, that we can learn about by looking at the fossils they leave behind. West Alabama is a great place to learn about this because Cretaceous fossils are diverse, abundant, and show many traces of their interactions.

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Paleontology workshop for teachers
Mainly aimed at K-12 teachers, but also appropriate for informal educators
October 16, 2018, West Alabama

Our focus this year is on evidence that fossils provide of interactions among organisms. What species grew on the shells of other species (or on other members of their own species). What animals drilled holes into other animals to make a living or to get dinner.. Which animals used their big strong teeth to bite into which other animals. And so on. We can learn a lot about the community by looking at clues preserved on the remains that we find.

And of course, participants get Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks, one of the best books there is describing the fossils and rocks of a particular region so that anyone can understand. Many other publications and goodies will also be provided free.


You can use the registration form below, but email me if you have any problems with it.

Fossils of the Black Belt teacher field workshop

the workshop roster is almost full. If you would like to attend, and have not signed up yet, get in touch with me right away.

https://www.facebook.com/Fossils-of-the-Black-Belt-690641810945830/

Field workshop in paleontology for teachers

FOSSILS OF THE BLACK BELT

This is a 1-day field workshop, aimed primarily at K-12 teachers. This year, the main activity will be learning how fossils are preserved or are not preserved, by examining fossils you will collect yourself at a Cretaceous outcrop in West Alabama. A fossil shark's tooth is typically brown or gray. If you catch a shark while fishing, it's teeth are white. Why the change in color? This is just one of the changes that animal bodies undergo in the process of becoming fossils.

Workshop participants will get lots of free stuff, including a copy of the book "Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks," by Jim Lacefield, DVDs of Discovering Alabama shows, science posters, and much more.

You don't have to be a K-12 teacher in Alabama to benefit from or take this workshop, but they will get priority

Teacher Fossil Workshop

October 18, 2016
Livingston Alabama
For K-12 teachers who teach Earth Science

We'll be in the field for a day, doing what paleontologists do. Details soon!

Outstanding earth science teacher – nominate yourself or someone else

Outstanding earth science teacher for Alabama – send the nomination to me. The deadline is April 1, although you can send me the nomination form at any time. The state winner is automatically nominated at the section level, and the section winner is automatically nominated at the national level.

The Alabama winner gets $100 and some free science books as well as a plaque. What have you got to lose?

You are eligible to be considered for this award if you teach a significant amount of earth science at the K-12 level. It is not necessary for you to teach earth science all year long.

Teacher of the Year -- awarded by American Association of Petroleum Geologists

This is a pretty decent award, and it goes to a teacher who has taught earth science specifically as it relates to natural resources. See below.



Applications and nominations are being accepted for the American Association of Petroleum Geologists 2015 Teacher of the Year (TOTY) Award until December 1, 2014. The TOTY award, given by the American Association for Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Foundation, will once again be granted to a K-12 teacher within the United States who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the field of geoscience education. Six teachers across the country will be identified as finalists, each from one of six U.S. geographic regions (Pacific, Rocky Mountain, Mid-Continent, Southwest, Gulf Coast, and Eastern). The regional award, presented by AAPG-Eastern Section and the AAPG Foundation is $1,500.


All applicants must adhere to the following requirements in order to be considered for the TOTY:
o Minimum of 3 years full-time U.S. teaching experience at any K-12 level.
o Teaching at least one unit per year on natural resources. Natural resources are defined as earth materials used by civilizations past and present such as:
o Organic materials such as petroleum, natural gas, coal and oil shale.
o Inorganic substances found in the Earth such as mineral ores, building stone and aggregate.
o Energy resources from the Earth such as geothermal energy.
o Teaching should include the scientific study of these resources, their origin, discovery, extraction, and historic and present use. It should also include the preservation of the environment, reclamation, the conservation of resources, and the use of earth science knowledge in decision-making.


After regional winners are named, the Foundation’s TOTY Committee will convene to pick the final winner of the 2015 Teacher of the Year Award. The National TOTY winner will receive a $6,000 award which will be presented to the individual at the AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition (ACE) in Denver, Colorado, May 2015. The award includes $3,000 for school use under the teacher’s supervision for educational purposes and $3,000 for personal use by the teacher. The winner will also receive an expense paid trip for two to ACE to receive the award. Check out the link below for important information about guidelines, deadlines, how to nominate and/or apply! Application deadline is December 1, 2014.

Visit this link to nominate or apply today: http://foundation.aapg.org/programs/toty/index.cfm

Call for papers, SE Section, Geological Society of America

Note a theme session on teaching evolution & a field trip on evolution that starts with the Scopes monkey trial.

Students can get free registration in exchange for about six hours of volunteer work. Also, student travel grants are available.

Fossil Workshop for Teachers in Alabama

Oct. 21, Livingston Alabama & environs. For both formal & informal teachers. You should end the day able to teach about & take students to the Age of Dinosaurs in Alabama.

Fall Fossil Teacher Workshop

Back, By Popular Demand--Les Fossiles!

Sign up soon, if you can, to stay off the waiting list!

Seriously, the second edition of "Lost worlds in Alabama rocks" is fantastic, and it costs three times what the workshop does. You get the book for free, a free lunch, other free stuff, and you get to collect fossils. What are you waiting for?

Nominations foe Outstanding Earth Science Teacher

This is a national program. If you don't live in Alabama, go to nagt.org for more info.

2014 Alabama Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Award



The Outstanding Earth Science Teacher award program is administered by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers ( http://nagt.org/). The award goes to a K-12 science teacher who teaches earth-science classes or who teaches substantial units of earth science in general-science classes. The state award consists of earth science textbooks, a modest cash award, and other earth-science publications. The state winner competes at the section level, and section winners compete at the national level. See the NAGT website for details. State winners for a given year are chosen May 1st. Nominations received after that date are considered for the following year.

The Outstanding Earth Science Teacher Awards program was adopted by NAGT in 1971. Devised to honor pre-college teachers of earth science, the program has the following specific objectives:
• Identify excellence in teaching
• Appropriately recognize and reward excellence in teaching
• Stimulate higher levels of teaching performance
• Establish NAGT as a strong support organization for pre-college education, and
• Via active statewide and sectional programs, build a solid state, regional, and national liaison with administrators of pre-college earth science education.


Please use the Alabama OEST form (available from me), rather than the generic national form, which is on the NAGT website. Please send me the filled-out form by April 1st. Please send the form to the address below.


Thank you,
David C. Kopaska-Merkel
NAGT Alabama State Representative
Geological Survey of Alabama
Box 869999
Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-6999
205-247-3695
dkm@gsa.state.al.us