The educational extension program of the Illinois State Geological Survey

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STATE OF ILLINOIS

DWIGHT H. GREEN, Governor

DEPARTMENT OF REGISTRATION AND EDUCATION

FRANK G. THOMPSON. Director

DIVISION OF THE

STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

M. M. LEIGHTON. Chief
URBANA

CIRCULAR NO. 142

THE EDUCATIONAL EXTENSION PROGRAM OF
THE ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

By

GILBERT O. RAASCH

Reprinted from School Science and Mathematics
Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 139-142, February, 1948

PRINTED by authority of the state OF ILLINOIS

URBANA, ILLINOIS

ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGIC A L SURV EY

3 3051 00004 6304

THE EDUCATIONAL EXTENSION PROGRAM OF
THE ILLINOIS STATE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Gilbert 0. Raasch

Associate Geologist in Charge of Educational Extension

The overall objective of the Educational Extension Program of the
Illinois State Geological Survey is to bridge the gap between the
geologist and the general public, and to make the fruits of the science
available to the layman according to his particular needs and desires.
Geology may be approached through the layman's wish to understand
and to interpret a little more of the things of nature — to expand his
horizon. Or he may come to the science through a need for assistance
in solving some economic problem. Or he may be drawn to look more
deeply into geology through a civic-minded interest in, or concern
with public questions, such as mineral conservation or mineral stock-
piling.

Educational Extension in geology has a two fold purpose. There is
the more immediate one of contributing to the particular individual's
intellectual pleasure or material need. But even more fundamental in
a democracy, where every voter is a policy-maker, is the necessity for
the average citizen to be fully aware of the basic role that mineral
resources and their proper utilization play in our social and economic
system and in our position as a world power. The local corollary to
this broader concept is the denning of the position that the particular
state plays in relation to the national and international mineral
picture, and, in the present instance, the part that the State Geologi-
cal Survey plays in its relation to Illinois' mineral industry.

Program

The Educational Extension Division of the Illinois State Geological
Survey contacts the public through a number of channels, including
non-technical publications, collections of geological material, lec-
tures, exhibits, public field trips, correspondence involving identifica-
tion and information, and through the press. Closely dovetailed with
this general program, is one especially designed to assist the teachers
of the State in the geological science.

To carry out this program, the Survey at present employs two full-
time and two part-time employees, supported of course, by the staff
and facilities of the Survey as a whole.

Educational Publications
Although most of the Survey's publications are of a technical
character, many of the bulletins dealing with the areal and economic
of specific districts include sufficient general material on

140 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

fundamental concepts to be adaptable to the lay reader, particularly
to the high school teacher. As an example, J Harlen Bretz's "Geology,
of the Chicago Region" may be cited. In addition, there has been set
up a separate series of educational bulletins, abundantly illustrated
and simply written. To date, three of these have been issued and one,
entitled, "Typical Rocks and Minerals in Illinois," has been reprinted
a number of times. Furthermore, among the Survey's "Circulars" are
pamphlets characterized by an extremely simple style and designed
primarily to be broadcast at public fairs and among primary school
children. Others in this series are in essence reports of progress to the
general public. An example of the first is Circular 124, "What About
Our Minerals?" and of the second, Circular 126, "Operation of the
Illinois State Geological Survey." The series of popular publications
on geology is augmented from time to time as a result of the cooper-
ative efforts of other State organizations. For example, a small pam-
phlet, "The New Oil Fields of Southern Illinois," was written and
illustrated by the Survey, published by the State Chamber of Com-
merce, and distributed by both organizations. A spontaneous demand
from the public for popular publications continues to come at an
accelerated rate. The Survey receives numerous requests for publica-
tions on the physiography and on the general geology of the State,
for handbooks to assist mineral and fossil collectors, for field trip
guidebooks, and for material on mineral conservation. It is attempt-
ing to satisfy this demand for such publications to the extent that
staff and time permit.

Service to the Schools
Many a life interest has been awakened in high school. The selec-
tion of courses by college freshmen may be a hit-or-miss affair or it
may be guided, in part at least, by an early interest in some subject to
which the student has already been happily introduced. Unfortu-
nately, geology has not been widely taught in our high schools.
Accordingly, the study of geology is neglected by many, for whom it
remains one of those semi-popular, semi-mysterious things it "would
be nice to know more about." We believe that the educational objec-
tives of us all can be benefited by stimulating an interest in funda-
mental subjects like geology among the teachers of our secondary
schools. The arousing and fostering of this interest in the teaching of
geology is a major objective of the Educational Extension Program of
the Survey.

Rock and Mineral Study Sets

One important phase of this program is the preparation of sets of
rocks, minerals, and fossils typical of Illinois. All the sets are supplied
with printed labels giving the most essential information about each

THE EDUCATIONAL EXTENSION PROGRAM 141

item. These sets are not loaned, but given to schools and other organi-
zations for only the cost of mailing charges. The response to the
service has been most gratifying. In the past year, for example, more
than 650 sets of 35 specimens each have been distributed to schools,
scout troops, nature clubs, and other organizations. Many cordial
letters of appreciation have been received from teachers and pupils.

Field Trips for Teachers

To contact high school science teachers more directly the Survey
annually conducts a series of six field trips. These trips are carefully
scouted, and mimeographed itineraries are prepared in advance. The
localities are chosen in such a manner that no section of the State is
remote from a field trip center; selection is made, not so much on a
basis of the most spectacular points of interest, but rather for the
purpose of illustrating that geology is universal and accessible to
every high school teacher, regardless of the geographical location of
the school. In early fall, advance publicity is sent to each high school,
as well as to all persons having previously indicated an interest in the
trips. Itineraries and maps are distributed at the beginning of the
trip, which is generally confined to a period of about six hours, to a
minimum number of stops, and to a limited geographic area. No fee is
charged, as participants supply their own picnic lunches and trans-
portation.

Exhibits

An effective means of contacting wide sections of the general public
is through exhibits. Last year the Survey prepared displays in con-
nection with the meeting of the Geological Society of America in
Chicago and participated in the Old King Coal Cavalcade, at West
Frankfort, in the heart of the Southern Illinois coal district. For the
past two summer seasons, an attractive exhibit highlighting the
applied research activities of the Survey has been presented at the
State Fair and at numbers of county fairs. These procedures have
proved an excellent means of contacting the general public over a
wide area, and thereby appreciably furthering our Educational Ex-
tension Program.

Public Lectures

Each year the staff of the Survey gives a limited number of lectures
to schools, Rotary Clubs, and other civic groups, and also is called
upon to assist in special summer courses in conservation for school
teachers. It is a conscious policy of the Survey not to solicit lecturing
opportunities, but merely to respond to spontaneous requests to the
extent that it is able. In this way, geology may be popularized without
the public's coming to feel that we have something we are trying to

142 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

sell or propagandize. The Survey's policy on radio broadcasting
follows the same line as that relative to personal lecture appearances.

Press Publicity
The Educational Extension Division channels the news releases
issued by the Survey, and prepares many of them. News releases fall
into several categories: stories for local papers in the Champaign-
Urbana area, stories for state-wide release through publicity channels
of the State administration, special stories for large newspapers, and
articles for trade journals and periodicals. Because of the nature of
the material, and of the difficulty newspapers have in maintaining
scientific accuracy, very little news is issued directly to interviewers or
reporters; almost all stories go out as written releases issued and
checked by the Survey.

Photography
A program for securing high-quality photographs illustrating the
geology, the mineral resources, and the operations of the Survey in
Illinois is being carried on under the direction of the Educational
Extension Division. Such a photographic library is extremely useful
for purposes of press publicity, for illustrating the more popular pub-
lications of the Survey, for exhibits, and for the preparation of lantern
slides. In addition the Survey has prepared one motion picture film on
the oil industry. Under the existing setup, the Survey does not deem
it expedient to institute a lantern slide or motion picture loan service
inasmuch as this would require a very considerable addition of
clerical and photographic personnel.

Summary Statement
The Educational Extension policy of the Survey is oriented toward
meeting popular demand for information on natural science, including
the desire of public school teachers to create a more enlightened
citizenship. It is, in fact, merely attempting to meet the public half
way in their constantly rising demand for geological popularization.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2012 with funding from

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

http://archive.org/details/educationalexten142raas