WVU Parkersburg to host geoscience educators conference

WVU Parkersburg to be site of annual meeting of Eastern Section of National Association of Geoscience Teachers.

CONTACT: Dr. Ed Crisp, professor of geology, 304-424-8327.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

More than 60 public and higher education earth science faculty and other geoscience educators are expected to attend the 2006 annual meeting of the Eastern Section of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers being hosted May 18-21 at West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

The Parkersburg campus is serving as the main site for the conference. Joining WVU Parkersburg as co-hosts are Marietta College, Fairmont State University, West Virginia University and the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey. On-site hosts will be the geology faculty of WVU Parkersburg and Marietta College. Most sessions will take place at WVU Parkersburg with some of the conference sessions to be held at the conference hotel, the Comfort Suites in Mineral Wells.

The association supports and fosters improvement in the teaching of earth sciences at all levels of formal and informal instruction. NAGT membership includes K-12 teachers, college and university faculty, and educators in museums and science centers. The association's Eastern Section includes geoscience educators from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia and eastern Ontario.

The conference will begin May 18 at the Comfort Suites with offerings from several West Virginia rock, mineral, fossil and gem dealers followed by a presentation by Mitch Blake of the WV Geological Survey on the "Age of the Dunkard?".

Technical sessions will be held May 19 at WVU Parkersburg and will feature a morning of presentations dealing with earth science education, the nature of scientific inquiry, and dinosaurs. An afternoon trip to Blennerhassett Island will be featured and will include presentations on the geology and archaeology of the island. Four separate fields trips are planned May 20 and will emphasize the geology and oil and gas history of the area. An awards banquet will be held that evening at the Comfort Suites. Keynote presentation will be "Science, Pseudoscience and Just Plain Nonsense: Helping Our Students Tell the Difference," delivered by Greg Forbes of Grand Rapids College.

The conference will end May 21 with a business meeting and a microfossil workshop for K-12 educators.

Additional information about the conference is available by contacting Ed Crisp, professor of geology, at WVU Parkersburg.

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For additional information, contact:
Connie Dziagwa
WVU Parkersburg
Executive Director
Institutional Advancement
Office: 304-424-8203
Fax: 304-424-8315