Secondary and College Students Exploring Colorado’s Geology Together

Program Contact

Lon Abbott

Teaching Professor of Distinction

lon.abbott@colorado.edu

303.492.6172

CU Boulder’s Department of Geological Sciences hosts the thriving Collaborative, Inquiry-based Research Community (CIRC), which involves both CU Boulder undergraduates and students from Northglenn High School (NHS),  a leading STEM-focused high school that boasts an extensive geoscience curriculum. Undergraduates in the CIRC program participate in a reading seminar in which they discuss peer-reviewed literature about the geologic evolution of the American West and explore STEM career requirements and trajectories. They and CU Boulder faculty visit NHS geology classrooms, and NHS students visit CU to participate in some CIRC activities.

Colorado hosts a plethora of world-class rock outcrops that illustrate fundamental geologic concepts. CIRC undergraduates also plan joint field trips in which they and NHS students participate. CIRC students design trips that focus on geologic themes they find especially exciting and that they think will fuel the NHS students’ enthusiasm for geology.

  • Geology Field Trips

    Additional Info

    Joint NGH/CIRC field trips to explore the geology of the Front Range. We took a joint field trip to the Loveland/Big Thompson area on April 10, 2022 and we are planning a trip to other local geology for Spring 2023.


    Location

    on campus

    Dates

    Ongoing

    Public or Private

    Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

    Program Fee

    No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

  • Geology Info Session

    Additional Info

    CU Boulder undergraduate CIRC students gave presentations to Northglenn High School geology students about how they got to college and how they are paying for it in Fall of 2019. They also described what it is like to be a CU Boulder geology student. We will do more such presentations in the future.


    Location

    in colorado

    Loveland

    Dates

    4/11/2020 - 4/11/2020

    Public or Private

    Private Program (by request only or for a specific audience or group)

    Program Fee

    No charge to attend/participate in activity or program

Sponsoring Units

  • College of Arts & Sciences

  • Department of Geological Sciences

Program Partners

  • Northglenn High School Geology Program

Audiences Served

  • Students - High School