Water leader workshop participants float on the Chama River. See story below. (Photo by Frank Sholedice)

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources maximizes the summer break when scholars, researchers and professors can meet up with policymakers. It is also when K-12 educators have some time to prowl the desert and rock formations, learning more about geology, satisfying their inquiring minds, and invigorating their students’ come fall.

ThermoCon

The recent ThermoCon 2024 saw 42 participants exchanging ideas and research findings as well as exploring the natural resources around Socorro.

(Read that story here.) 

Water Leaders Gather

State Sen. Leo Jaramillo weighs in at the workshop held at Ghost Ranch. (Photo by Frank Sholedice)

In May, the Bureau hosted the 2024 New Mexico Water Leaders Workshop at Ghost Ranch in the Rio Chama watershed.

During the workshop, attendees heard 40 talks from subject matter experts, participated in panel discussions, and visited several locations in the field to view water infrastructure, river and bosque restoration projects, and farmlands.

(Read the rest of the Water Leaders story here.) 

We Will Rock You

Geologist Matt Zimnmerer (center with orange hat) discusses the formation of the ah' ah basalt at the Quartz Hill stop.

The 30th Rockin' Around New Mexico was held in Grants recently. The Bureau and New Mexico Tech faculty and staff welcomed a number of K-12 grade educators. Senior Economic Geologist Virginia McLemore took the group to the Lee Ranch Coal Mine where NMT alumnus John Durica led the group on a tour.

The next day, a tour through Zuni Canyon with Bureau Mapping Manager Matt Zimmerer gave the group an up-close look at the Paxton Spring Cinder Cone and other volcanoes in the Grants area. In the classroom, Bruce Harrison gave teachers an update about the ongoing challenges that face the people of New Zealand in the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.

On the last day of the workshop, Senior Petroleum Geologist Luke Martin taught educators about subsurface mapping, and NMT Seismology Manager Urbi Basu led a triangulation activity for teachers.

(See more photos on the Bureau's Facebook page.)

Nacimiento Copper Mine

Teachers set out for a copper mine in the Nacimiento Mountains.

Also in early May, the New Mexico Science Teachers Association and the Cuba Independent School District outreach program toured the well-known Nacimiento sedimentary-hosted copper mine, in the Nacimiento Mountains east of Cuba.

McLemore gave a talk for the teachers and then explored the mine with them.

(Read the rest of the Nacimiento field trip story here.)