APPALACHIAN GEO-STEM CAMP
estimated the 3D coordinates of easily identifiable points on an object or structure from a set of multiple overlapping and offset 2D images taken from different viewpoints around that same object (Westoby et al., 2012). In the classroom, concepts such as 3D point clouds, data gaps, and photograph matching were explained with several examples.
Afterwards, the campers
hiked at Coopers Rock State Forest, and used their own smart phones to take photos of sandstone outcrops and displaced blocks. Instructors discussed how to apply SfM technology to study rockfalls – a common geologic hazard in many popular local, state and federal parks around the country (e.g., Stock et al., 2018). After the hike, campers engaged in a real-time processing session of photos taken in the field.
The BioBlitz activity incorporated both a hike and canopy
zip-line tour at the WVU NRC with iNaturalist1, a popular and free online platform and citizen-scientist community dedicated to observing, recording and identifying plant species. During the hike, approximately 40 species of plants were identified for the campers (Fig. 2F). Defining characteristics and impor- tant roles and uses of the various plants were discussed. The campers recorded their plant observations in the iNaturalist app by adding smartphone photos to a community project set up for the camp. The iNaturalist app uses these photos to offer identification suggestions based on a deep learning algorithm for image analysis (Van Horn et al., 2017). Over the course of the AGC, campers added more than 250 species observations in the “Coopers Rock Project” area of the camp (https://www.
inaturalist.org/projects/coopers-rock-state-forest-species), and at least three campers have continued to be active in the iNaturalist online community, adding observations from their home areas after the camp ended.
Lessons Learned from the Inaugural
AGC A total of nine students participated in the camp. Six of the
Figure 2: Photographs from the WVU-USGS Appalachian Geo- STEM Camp. A: Campers measure strike and dip on a joint face of a sandstone block of the Pennsylvanian Homewood Sandstone Member of the Pottsville Formation at Coopers Rock State Park using the StraboSpot app. B: Classroom introduction of the StraboSpot app at the WVU NRC preceding the mountain bike activity at Coopers Rock State Park. C: Comparing a fossil plant imprint from the Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation with a mod- ern leaf on the white-water rafting trip on the Cheat River. D: Campers stand on the contact between the Lower Mississippian Price Formation and Middle Mississippian Greenbrier Limestone (top of photograph) in the core of the Preston anticline. E: A camper enjoys a tight crawl through one of the many passages in the natural portion of the spelunking adventure at Laurel Caverns Geological Park. F: USGS biologist Dr. Gerald “Stinger” Guala identifies a plant during the BioBliz activity, while campers record the species in iNaturalist on their smartphones. All photographs by WVU NRC and Outdoor Adventure staff. All surveys and research activities were conducted under approved protocol 1810326379 as it pertains to research on human subjects, as outlined by the Institutional Review Board of West Virginia University.
used the mobile app on iPad Mini1 tablets to learn how to take strike and dip measurements (using the built-in compass in the StraboSpot app), geotag photos, and record geologic notes at several rock outcrops and a small quarry, while mountain biking at Coopers Rock State Park (Fig. 2A). Back at the WVU NRC, campers uploaded their data to view it in GoogleEarth1.
Campers also received classroom instruction and field experience with Structure from Motion (SfM) technology. SfM
students were males and three were females. The students learned about the camp from their teachers or parents dur- ing a period of promotion by the USGS and WVU to regional public-school districts. Participants were mostly from the Ap- palachian region—six from West Virginia, two from Virginia and one from Maryland. Four of the students had previously taken an earth science class. At the end of the AGC, a preliminary evaluation was con-
ducted. As the number of students was less than 10, an open- ended method was used to understand how the students en- joyed the camp, and what they had learned. A sampling of the responses is outlined below:
How did you feel about the USGS instructors? • Good sometimes lessons got pretty long though • I loved them. Good info :) • LOVED them! • Sometimes they would keep going on tangents • They gave valuable information • They were great • They were really cool!
How did you feel about the adventure staff and leaders? • Also super cool. • Amazing • Excellent. Nothing less. • Friendly • Good, they were nice • Great instructors, very helpful • LOVED them!
1. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
www.aipg.org Apr.May.Jun 2019 • TPG 29
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