AAPG Program Support
Bookout Initiative
John F. Bookout generously donates to the Bookout Fund so that K-12 teachers are receiving training in the earth sciences. In turn, teachers are able to pass on this knowledge to students in the classroom.
The AAPG Foundation partners with the Ellison Miles Geotechnology Institute (EMGI) to offer teacher workshops and conferences. Teachers who complete the workshops receive a certificate stating the number of credit hours they have received. These certificates can be used by most school districts as credits for state-required yearly update certification hours.
Progress Reports
On November 17th-19th, 2011, the EMGI presented two “Geo on the Bus” field trips and hosted five short courses at the 2011 Convention for the Advancement of Science Teaching (CAST).
EMGI was particularly proud to announce and introduce the newly formed “Barnett Shale Tour”. They gave the teachers the history of oil and gas and how it relates to Geology, explained the Barnett Shale and the process of drilling a well. As a bonus, teachers were introduced to the hydraulic fracturing process too. Williams Company Drilling Site, Devon Energy Hydraulic Fracturing Site, and the Chesapeake Learning Center where among the sites visited.
EMGI trained 16 teachers during this tour and at least 2,465 students. The trip was covered in the Flower Mound Leader, a local newspaper in Flower Mound, Texas. The courses covered an array of hot topics such as: The Intro to Meteorites, Identifying Rocks and Minerals, Better than Google Earth partI/ part II and we hosted yet another More Rocks in Your Head Workshop. Greg Fields, from WFAA, participated at our booth, so you can image the enormous amount of exposure this generated!
On December 3, 2011 the EMGI presented a "More! Rocks in Your Head" Workshop in which 28 teachers were trained. The teachers will instruct over 2,498 students in one semester so the materials provided were advanced.
