180-17 Engaging High School Students in Earth Science Through Interactive Workshops on Paleoclimate and Critical Minerals

Session: Geoscience Outreach Efforts to Broaden Participation (Posters)

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Reaching the next generation of leaders with engaging, relevant Earth science content is crucial for fostering geoscientific literacy. We developed two hands-on, interactive workshops aimed at high school-aged participants, piloted at the Girl Scouts Global Leadership Conference over three years. Each 75-minute workshop is designed for 12-20 participants and focuses on connecting geoscience to real-world challenges like climate change and use of non-renewable resources. The workshops are adaptable for classrooms, outreach programs, and informal learning spaces.

The first workshop, Climate Detectives: Uncovering Past Changes with Geological Tools, introduces participants to paleoclimate proxies and the timescales of climate change. Students begin by examining natural climate archives like speleothems, corals, and tree rings, focusing on their common features (e.g., layered growth reflecting age and environmental conditions). They learn how scientists analyze these features to reconstruct past climates beyond the reach of human records. In a second activity, students create their own sediment cores using colored layers of sorbitol, simulating sea level transgressions and regressions, and practicing interpretation of sedimentary records.

The second workshop, Minerals in Society: Connecting the World Through Critical Resources, builds awareness of mineral dependence in everyday life and the global nature of supply chains. Students first identify common consumer products (e.g., toothpaste, smartphones, cookware) and connect them to their mineral origins. The session focuses on three critical minerals found in smartphones: lithium, platinum group elements (PGEs), and rare earth elements (REEs). Each group receives a supply chain vignette for one of the three minerals, including information on mining, processing, manufacturing, recycling, environmental impacts, and future demand. Groups then map their supply chain onto a world map using color-coded string and push pins, revealing the geographic complexity and interdependence involved in producing a single item. The workshop concludes with a discussion centered on recycling challenges and the lifecycle of materials, especially batteries.

Both workshops emphasize geoscience’s relevance to contemporary issues, from climate change to resource sustainability, while providing participants with opportunities to investigate evidence, make connections, and think critically. These models will be made available to educators, and are adaptable for use in classrooms, museums, outreach events, or informal learning spaces, and require only modest materials and setup. To date, the workshops have reached over 70 students, demonstrating strong engagement and interest in learning more about geoscience.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

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