EARTH SCIENCE
EDUCATION
Few people appreciate the impact that geology and the other earth sciences have on their daily lives. The water we drink, the raw materials and energy resources that support our standard of living, the soils in which our food crops grow, the mineral nutrients in the soils, land forms, and even the weather - all involve geology and geoscientists. Many of the "hot topics" in the news today, such as global warming and America's dependency on imported crude and refined oil products, environmental protection, are subjects that concern the geosciences.
Ammonite Resources supports earth science education at the K-12 level in our nation's public schools. It is only through exposure to earth science in the classroom that students will be better able to make informed decisions regarding natural resources, energy use, and the environment, that will have an impact on future generations.
Skip Hobbs, Managing Partner of Ammonite Resources, is the Chairman of the Earth Sciences Outreach Program of the Eastern Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. This organization provides funding for K-12 earth science teacher training programs.
For more information about earth science education, we invite you to visit the following websites:
American Geological Institute (AGI)
Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC)
Eastern Section AAPG Outreach Program
National Energy Education Development Project (NEED)
The NEED Project is a nonprofit education association providing professional development, innovative materials correlated to the National Science Education Content Standards, ongoing support and recognition to educators nationwide at the K-12 level. NEED specializes in providing educational information on all forms of energy. Visit their website at www.NEED.org
The Energy Information Agency has created a dynamite website for children about energy sources and their use. This site is interesting and informative for adults as well. Check it out by clicking on:
For information about the the history of petroleum, we recommend a visit to Samuel T. Pees website:
The Yoho-Burgess Shale Foundation
One of the oldest, most unique and bizarre assemblages of fossil arthropods, annelids, and even the first chordate, occur in the Late Cambrian Burgess Shale in Yoho National Park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Among the factors that make the 500+ million year old fossil site so special is the exquisite preservation of the soft body parts of the creatures. Many of the organisms- like the five-eyed Opabinia with an elephant-like proboscis, have no modern descendants. In 1981, the Burgess Shale fossil locality was declared a World heritage Site by UNESCO. In 1989 Harvard University's Professor of Paleontology Stephen Jay Gould wrote a fascinating book about the Burgess Shale titled "Wonderful Life". Dr. Gould called the Burgess Shale "one of the world's most significant fossil discoveries". The not-for-profit Yoho-Burgess Shale Foundation serves as the "guardian" of the site, offers guided tours to the fossil localities, and organizes geological, paleotonological, and geoscience short courses and seminars, and geoscience teacher training courses. The YBSF is raising funds to build and maintain a Burgess Shale Science Learning Center in Field, British Columbia. We highly recommend a visit to the foundation's website and its many "links".
Minerals Industry
For information about minerals and the minining industry, the website of the Minerals Information Institute, Denver, Colorado, is an excellent resource, particularly for K-12 teachers. There are course modules that cover the obvious, such as where do the metals in my car (and skateboard) come from, but also the not-so-obvious, such as the minerals that are mined and processed to produce toothpaste and pencils.
Mineralogy Database
For information about 4,255 mineral specials, complete with technical descriptions and photographs, we recommend a visit to the website below.