Earth Science Week

Earth Science Week Celebrate the 27th annual Earth Science Week October 13 - 19!

Since October 1998, the American Geosciences Institute has organized this national and international event to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth Sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth. This year's Earth Science Week will be "Earth Science Everywhere," aiming to help us understand Earth's materials and the rapid or long-term environmental changes

that can affect many aspects of our lives and communities. Earth Science Week 2024 learning resources and activities will engage young people and others in exploring the many ways that earth science is conducted — by various types of people and professions in interconnected disciplines — to help solve problems for communities and the planet. Individuals of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities will be engaged in understanding the impact of geosciences on their lives, their communities, and their futures.

09/04/2026

As Ray Troll says, the DATA IS IN THE STRATA! ⛏️🔍

Geologists and paleontologists alike use the fundamental principles of geology to understand the relative ages of rock formations, fossils, and more! 🪨🦴

Steno’s Laws are a great tool for any paleo detective to make use of, but remember — every rule in geology has an exception! 👀

🔗 Head to bit.ly/superposition-core to learn even more about this Feature!

And don’t forget - we’ll be highlighting a different fossil from the Paleontological Research Institution’s (Museum of the Earth) 3D model collection each week, so feel free to peruse their collection and let us know in the comments which fossils you’d like us to feature 👉 www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/VC/

This month’s Earth Science Week Calendar activity from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) invites s...
09/03/2026

This month’s Earth Science Week Calendar activity from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) invites students to become data detectives! 🔎

Students analyze real-world mineral supply and demand data, explore projected trends through 2050, investigate how critical minerals are used in batteries, and even conduct a battery inventory of their classroom, school, or home🔋💎⛏️

🌎 Mining the Data: Supply and Demand for Critical Minerals is a great way to connect Earth science, data analysis, natural resources, and the energy transition!

🔗 Check it out here: bit.ly/AAPG-mineral-suppply-demand

09/01/2026

heads down under! This week’s ESW Calendar spread features the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) (Minerals Council of Australia), one of our partners bringing a global perspective to Earth Science Week 🇦🇺

🔗 Curious how mining shapes Australia’s economy, communities, and landscapes? Learn more straight from the source: https://minerals.org.au/

Earth science doesn’t stop at the classroom door or the map’s edge! 🌏

⏳Haven’t ordered your ESW Toolkit yet? There’s still time: https://bit.ly/order-2026-ESW-Toolkit

08/31/2026

🔎 : GRAPHITE, From Pencil “Lead” to Batteries

Graphite is probably most familiar to you as the writing material in a pencil, but that’s only one of its many uses ✏️

Graphite’s crystalline structure gives it properties that make it useful in very different applications, so you’ll find that it’s also commonly used in things like batteries and electronics! As such, graphite is considered a critical mineral — not only is it very important to key technologies, but its supply chain can also be vulnerable to disruption.

👉 Explore the BRAND NEW Geologic Map Day Poster, which is all about graphite deposits in Alaska!

Also, use the Mineralogical Society of America (Mineralogical Soc America) Mineralogy4Kids interactive to learn more about where graphite appears in the home: https://min4kids.org/minerals-your-house

💡 Think about it: Why can the same mineral work well in a pencil and in a battery? How might graphite need to be processed differently for different uses?

08/28/2026

Fossil leaves can tell you the temperature from millions of years ago?!?? 🤯🍁 Yeah, you heard that right 😎

🔗 Leaf Margin Analysis is a great skill for any paleo detective to have! And if you want to learn more about how it’s done, head to www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/learn/paleoecology/paleoclimate/lma/

And, you can learn more about this Fossil Friday Feature at bit.ly/smooth-leaf and bit.ly/jagged-leaf 🍃🍂

And don’t forget - we’ll be highlighting a different fossil from the Paleontological Research Institution’s (Museum of the Earth) 3D model collection each week, so feel free to peruse their collection and let us know in the comments which fossils you’d like us to feature 👉 www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/VC/

08/25/2026

flips the page! 📖 This week’s spotlight in the ESW Resource Calendar is Visible Geology!

Ready to bring 3D geologic models into your lessons? Visible Geology’s interactive platform allows you to explore and build models to show a range of geologic processes and even human infrastructure.

🔗 Visible Geology’s free lesson library walks students through building their own: https://bit.ly/visible-geology-lessons

Every ESW Calendar page is a doorway to a partner resource like this one. Which one will you explore first? 🧭

⏳Haven’t ordered your ESW Toolkit yet? There’s still time: https://bit.ly/order-2026-ESW-Toolkit

🔎 : QUARTZ = A Powerful Connection Quartz may look like a simple nonmetallic mineral, but the element silicon inside it...
08/24/2026

🔎 : QUARTZ = A Powerful Connection

Quartz may look like a simple nonmetallic mineral, but the element silicon inside it is actually essential to modern technology! Silicon is the second most abundant element on Earth, but its importance led to it being added to the critical minerals list in 2025!

👉 Explore the Mineralogical Society of America (Mineralogical Soc America) Mineralogy4Kids interactive to investigate why silicon is now considered critical: https://min4kids.org/minerals-your-house

💡 Think about it: How can a nonmetallic mineral become the starting point for materials used in computers and other advanced technologies?

Silicon Geoscience Mineralogy4Kids

Image credits (in order of appearance): Quartz by James St. John via Flickr, CC BY 2.0; Quartz sand by Hi-Res Images of Chemical Elements via Wikimedia; Quartz watch components by U.S. National Archives, Public Domain.

08/21/2026

Well, of quartz geology ROCKS, and paleontologists never take it for granite 😉😅

Using our paleontology AND geology detective skills, we can learn a lot about what sort of environments fossil critters lived in! In the case of this sample, we’ve deduced that it was likely deposited in a river environment, but you can learn even more about this Feature at bit.ly/sandstone-ripples 🪨

And don’t forget - we’ll be highlighting a different fossil from the Paleontological Research Institution’s (Museum of the Earth) 3D model collection each week, so feel free to peruse their collection and let us know in the comments which fossils you’d like us to feature 👉 www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org/VC/

08/18/2026

continues! This week we’re unfolding the Monumental Minerals poster from the Minerals Education Coalition (MEC) and watching it transform a blank wall into a geology lesson 🪨✨

It’s already folded, printed, and packed in your Toolkit—just smooth it out and hang it up!

🔗 Need extras for more classrooms or a bigger space? MEC has you covered: https://bit.ly/MEC-monumental-minerals-poster

⏳Haven’t ordered your ESW Toolkit yet? There’s still time: https://bit.ly/order-2026-ESW-Toolkit

🔎 : COPPER is Closer Than you Think! Your plumber or electrician could likely help to find copper in your home—all you ...
08/17/2026

🔎 : COPPER is Closer Than you Think!

Your plumber or electrician could likely help to find copper in your home—all you have to do is look behind the walls, inside electronics, or at the wires that power your devices!📱

Copper is a critical mineral because modern society depends on it. Its excellent electrical conductivity makes it especially valuable for wiring and electrical equipment!

👉 Explore the Mineralogical Society of America Mineralogy4Kids interactive to locate items that contain copper: https://min4kids.org/minerals-your-house

💡 Think about it: If copper conducts electricity so well, why don’t we use copper in all electronics? What other factors might influence material choices?

Image credits (in order of appearance): Copper mineral by James St John, CC BY 2.0; Copper pipes by Michaela Pereckas, CC BY-SA 2.0; Copper wires by Pau Keller, CC BY 2.0, all via Flickr

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