Earlier this month, a handful of Allan Hancock students embarked on a 15-day tour of the Colorado Plateau that included several national parks in Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nevada.
Led by Robert Meyer, a geology and physical science instructor at Allan Hancock College, and four other staff members, the students explored and studied sections of the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Zion, and Bryce National Parks.
The college is expected to lead a similar field study course to the Sierra Nevada in October.
Students are allowed to take the field trip courses for science credits, but many of the students participate in them just for the thrill of going on an adventure.
Meyers said in a press release that it’s important to give students a chance to see geologic features in person, rather than just from a book.
“To actually see these features in person and get an idea for the scale of landforms—it impresses upon their memory that what they learn in the classroom actually exists in the real world,” Meyers said in the release.
The intense two-week trip includes 3,000 miles of travel on a bus, multiple hikes, and camping in remote locations. The Allan Hancock College science department usually conducts it every other year.
The five-day trip to the Sierra Nevada will be offered Oct. 15 to 19, and include visits to places such as Mammoth, Bishop, and Mono Lake.
For more information about the field study classes, which are open to the public, contact Meyer at 922-6966 ext. 3837 or at rmeyer@hancockcollege.edu.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 3, 2008.