Media Advisory: GeoGirls Dig Geology at Mount St. Helens

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Twenty middle school girls from Washington and Oregon are participating in “GeoGirls,” an outdoor program jointly organized by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Mount St. Helens Institute. During August 3–7, female scientists, from the USGS, the Mount St. Helens Institute, UNAVCO, Boise State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Washington, Oregon State University, and a former NASA educator astronaut will participate as leaders, teachers and role models for a pilot field camp at Mount St. Helens.

The GeoGirls will spend five days conducting hands-on research and interacting with scientists, educators, and older students, learning about volcanoes, natural hazards, and modern scientific monitoring technologies.  They will camp, hike to field sites, work on research projects with scientists, and learn how to document and share their findings by building a public webpage.

What:

Members of the news media are invited to observe hands-on research activities with GeoGirls program participants, and conduct interviews with students and program leaders.

During this afternoon of media availability, GeoGirls participants will build 3D models from photographs (photogrammetry), learn about lidar, lasers and landslides, capture volcanic earthquakes by deploying seismic instruments, and explore the interaction of water and volcanoes on the landscape.

 

Who:

USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory research scientists

Mount St. Helens Institute staff

Additional scientist-leaders from Univ. of Washington, Oregon State Univ., Georgia Tech and UNAVCO

GeoGirls student participants

 

When:

Thursday, August 6, 2015, by appointment between 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

 

Where:

Coldwater Science and Learning Center

19000 Spirit Lake Hwy, Milepost 43.3, State Route 504 Toutle, Washington.

 

RSVP:

No later than August 5, 2:00 p.m. PDT, with your expected arrival time and to receive schedule updates. See contacts above.

The goal of the program is for GeoGirls participants to emerge with a stronger understanding and connection to Earth systems and feel confident in choosing careers in science, technology, engineering, math or other STEM-related fields.

The GeoGirls program is offered through the Mount St. Helens Institute and is free to student participants through the generosity of numerous volunteers and private donors, along with grant funding from the National Science Foundation, the American Association of University Women and the Association for Women Geoscientists.  This is the pilot year of the program, and it is expected to continue in 2016.

More information is available online.