Rocks, Fault Lines and Dinosaur Tracks, Oh My! The Company Crystallizing Texas A&M G-Camp’s Immersive Experience for Teachers

Never underestimate the power of a rock or vial of sand to spark a young person’s curiosity.

Knowing many students’ fascination with the natural world, teachers like Tara Hodge and Marissa Blanco-Johnson continually look for ways to tap into that sense of wonder in their science classrooms.

Now, thanks to Texas A&M University's G-Camp, a multi-week professional development experience coordinated by the College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Geology and Geophysics, two teachers can mine a larger instructional toolkit to enhance their lessons.

The innovative science education program, which is made possible thanks to the longtime sponsorship of Aramco, has inspired approximately 500 secondary science teachers from across the United States since its inception in 2007. In turn, the camp’s alumni have imparted the program’s love for all things geology to more than an estimated 700,000 middle school and high school students.

The Ultimate Field Trip

The brainchild of Dr. Rick Giardino, who is now an emeritus professor and researcher, G-Camp’s initial goal was to support science teachers who worked in rural communities. The concept was simple: give fifth through 12th grade science teachers firsthand experience with the principles of geology through a variety of field experiences.
 

To that end, Aramco also tries to provide “people support” to G-Camp in addition to critical financial resources. Over the past few years, a few company employees have attended all or a portion of the camp to offer their expertise and serve as a window into geology and geophysics careers.

These professionals leave the program excited about the experience. “Going to G-Camp was fantastic,” said Andrew Silver ’18, a geological specialist in Aramco’s Upstream R&D Group who participated in the 2022 G-Camp, serves on the department’s advisory council and has a special affinity for the camp since his mother was a teacher. “By the trip’s end, the participants have developed a network where they share stories and teaching strategies and strengthen each other’s skillsets as science teachers to make science feel attainable for their students.”

The company’s financial support has been instrumental in covering participants’ lodging, travel, food, and entry into some state and national parks. “Aramco has been the camp’s longest sponsor, and they’ve been the best supporter over the years,” Pope said. “If you’re making better teachers, you’re going to improve K-12 education, which in turn makes better citizens — and Aramco realizes that supporting G-Camp is a way to help do that.”
 

Yet, G-Camp also serves another more immediate and individual purpose in giving students a sense of appreciation for their planetary home. For example, Hodge’s school serves a large community whose ancestry traces to the Marshall Islands. During G-Camp, she mentioned that group of students to Pope, who gave her a vial of sand that a previous Texas A&M faculty member collected from the islands, which are in the central Pacific Ocean.

Now, Hodge regularly invites her students to contemplate the origin of that sand. “To them, that’s home, and they feel that it’s their culture. To pull that sand out and look at it under a hand lens is so cool for my students every year,” she said. “If I can use this sand and rocks to get them engaged in school, then I’ve won as a teacher.”