Supporting Geoscience Education in the Owens Valley Region, one of the Premier Venues for Geology Field Education in the World. Note: (this project is still in the formative stages and is presented here to stimulate interest).

The region surrounding WMRS is one of the premier venues for geology field education in the World. Since 1980 the WMRS Owens Valley Laboratory has hosted over six hundred geoscience classes, totalling perhaps 8,000 students and 75,000 person-days. WMRS has also hosted over 700 geoscience research projects by both faculty and graduate students. These students have experienced a rich variety of field experience, from mapping the classic Poleta Formation to measuring active deformation in the Long Valley Caldera. Their learning experience has greatly benefitted from the rich body of knowledge built up over the years by returning faculty and researchers, and many have since moved on to distinguished careers in agency science, applied geology, and academia. Some are now bringing their own classes to the station.

In addition to hosting UC summer geology field schools and classes (Riverside, UCLA, Santa Barbara, Davis, Santa Cruz), WMRS receives classes from all over the continental United States, Europe and Hawaii. WMRS has also hosted substantial numbers of faculty and graduate student geoscience research projects. The primary facility for this has been the WMRS Owens Valley Laboratories, which are centrally located and convenient for access to the diverse teaching sites around the region. This project, still in the formative stages, is to renovate the geoscience education facilities and programs at the Owens Valley Lab near Bishop. Initial assessments suggest that a relatively small investment in facilities improvement would greatly improve teaching efficiency at the station. Addition of dorm space would relieve overcrowding, and classroom renovation would improve information access and data crunching. Creation of a geoscience education web site and on-site map printing and scanning facility could provide the full range of field geoscience resources to all students.