Rockin' Around N.M. Program Receives Excellence Award

by George Zamora

SOCORRO, N.M., October 4, 2001 -- "Rockin' Around New Mexico," a summer geology workshop developed for state teachers by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) , recently was chosen to receive the Western States Seismic Policy Council's (WSSPC) 2001 Award in Excellence for Outreach to Schools.

The educational outreach program supports Earth science education at the elementary through high school levels by increasing the participating teachers's general knowledge of geology, particularly in reference to earthquakes and other geologic hazards which are specific to New Mexico.

About 30 teachers attend the three-day workshops each year, collecting and identifying minerals, exploring underground mines,
hiking to nearby earthquake faults, and poring over topographic maps--skills and experiences they often take back to their
classrooms to share with students.

David Love, senior geologist at the NMBGMR, will travel to Sacramento, Calif., later this month to the WSSPC's annual
conference, to accept the award on behalf of the Bureau's educational outreach program.

Love and several other Bureau staffers were instrumental in developing and implementing the "Rockin Around New Mexico"
program, which is now in its fifth year of operation.

Other Bureau staffers who have supported the workshops include Richard Chamberlin, Nelia Dunbar, Lynn Heizler, Gretchen
Hoffman, Virgil Lueth, Virginia McClemore, Patty Jackson Paul, and Susie Welch.

"Rockin Around New Mexico" workshops typically are held in different areas of New Mexico each summer, and are supported by a consortium of state agencies and private industry.

The program's lead agency, the NMBGMR, is a research and service division of New Mexico Tech.