CEOAS Outreach Examples

Topics: Geology, mineral properties, household materials
Age range: All ages
Format: Tabletop activity (also available in Spanish) or interactive activity (20-60 min)
Participants will: 

• Touch and feel real crystals and make casual observations
• Understand that minerals have properties that make them useful to humans by matching crystals with common household items
• Take home a sample of a common mineral used in household items (such as fluorite or quartz, when available)

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Topics: Geology, birthstones, minerals, gemstones
Age range: Grades 6 and up
Format: Interactive presentation (30-60 min), any size group
Participants will: 

• Understand that gems are minerals, which are mined from the Earth
• Touch and feel birthstone minerals for each month of the year
• Learn a little about why gemstones look the way they do
• Take home a sample of their birthstone mineral (when available)

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Topics: Geology, Earth sciences, Minecraft
Age range: K-6
Format: Tabletop activity or interactive presentation (30-60 min)
Participants will: 

• Use their knowledge of Minecraft to learn about rock and mineral counterparts in the real world
• Touch and feel rocks in both natural and Minecraft shapes
• Learn about what earth scientists study, using the Minecraft world as a base
• Take home a minecraft “block” (when available)

For more details: Minecraft Block Talking Points and Blocks to Rocks Coloring Sheet 

Topics: Geology, volcanoes, volcanic rocks, igneous rocks
Age range: Grades 6-12
Format: Interactive presentation (45-60 min), group size 8-30 people
Participants will: 

• Practice scientific observation techniques to identify rocks through hands-on activities
• Understand how different types of rocks are made through volcanic eruptions

Topics: Geology, volcanoes, layers of the earth
Age range: All
Format: Tabletop activity or interactive presentation
Participants will: 

• Participate in demonstrations illustrating various aspects of volcanic formation and eruption (exact activities depend on instructor requests*)
• Interact with scientists studying volcanoes and learn about the work they do and how they were inspired to study it.
• Understand more about how volcanoes work

Note*: Exploding trashcan volcano may be available for on-campus visits

Topics: Geology, rockhounding, outdoor activities
Age range: Grades pre-K-5
Format: Tabletop activity
Participants will: 

• Investigate the fun of rock hunting by exploring a tabletop “river” for special rocks and take home a specimen (when available)
• Understand that they can find cool rocks in their regular life, no matter where they live
• Interact with geologists to learn about where the rocks come from
• Watch a scientist break open a geode/thunderegg and take home pieces of it (when available)
• Explore tools and books used for rock hunting

Stay tuned! More info coming soon!

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Topics: Geography, natural hazards, land use planning, community resilience, social science, geospatial analysis
Age range: Grades 6 and up
Format: On OSU Campus interactive activity (60 min)
Participants will: 

• Understand that social science studies how human systems and natural systems are interconnected and influence each other
• Learn that scientists use different tools to measure the interactions between humans and the environment, including geospatial technology and qualitative research
• Physical sciences and stakeholder input are both necessary to help make decisions about how we manage our natural resources 
• Interact with a sand table and do a draw-a river activity

Topics: Fish, larva, zooplankton, food web 
Age range: All ages
Format: Tabletop activity 
Participants will: 

• Learn how humans and fish are interrelated with the ocean environment
• Match photos and preserved specimens of baby fish to adult fish 
• Understand that fish are food when they’re babies, and predators when they’re adults

Topics: Oceanography, research vessels, engineering
Age range: All ages
Format: Interactive activity (20-60 minutes) 
Participants will: 

• Learn about research vessels and what they do
• Use various household materials to build a boat that floats
• Compete to see which boat can hold the most pennies while floating in water

Topics: Oceanography, ocean acidification, climate change, ocean ecology, oysters
Age range: Grades 6 and up
Format: Interactive activity (40-60 min)
Participants will: 

• Participate in an experiment to determine the effects of pH changes on oyster shells
• Understand that human-caused climate change affects shellfish health and investigate possible solutions

Topics: Oceanography, microplastics, plastic pollution, data collection
Age range: All ages
Format: Tabletop activity or interactive activity
Participants will: 

• Sort through sand to pull out examples of microplastics and record their size and color
• Understand how the scientific method can be used to answer a question through data collection
• Learn that we can trace plastic pollution sources by understanding more about the pollution in the environment

Topics: Climatology, climate change, paleoclimate
Age range: Grades 6-12
Format: Tabletop activity or Interactive presentation (30-60 min), ideal for 20-25 people but can be adapted
Participants will: 

• Examine four lines of evidence, each showing a different aspect of past climates
• Understand the connection between carbon dioxide, temperature, and sea level changes over time
• Take home a sample of a paleoclimate archive, fossilized coral

Topics: Cloud identification, water cycle, crafting, observation
Age range: Grades pre-K-8
Format: Tabletop activity or interactive presentation (20 min)
Participants will: 

• Learn how different clouds are formed by different conditions
• Practice scientific observation techniques by listening stories and matching cloud types using photos and classical works of art
• Create different types of clouds using cotton balls