Earth History Classroom Visit
Students learn about what geologists study, learn about local rocks and rock types in an interactive rock lab, and re-create the Teton mountain range and glaciation process with a hands-on model. This program is offered in two versions, 1st-3rd grade and 4th-6th grade.
1st-3rd Grade Option:
By the end of the program students should understand why geology is important and is all around us. Understand that many geologic changes have happened here; they occurred over a very long time. Find out that rocks are fun to look at and touch. Curiosity is the beginning of a scientific mind. National Parks protect special landscapes.
4th-6th Grade Option:
By the end of the program students should understand why geology is important and is all around us. Identify many geologic changes that have happened here; they have occurred over a very long time but human influence has been very significant over a very short time. Understand that landscapes tell a story, preserving those landscapes is important and that National Parks preserve landscapes. Lastly, they should understand that by making scientific observations about the natural world, you gain knowledge.
Cross Disciplinary Concepts: Patterns can be used as evidence to support an explanation. Graphs, charts, and images can be used to identify patterns in data. Small changes in one part a system might cause large changes in another part. Phenomena may have more than one cause, and some cause and effect relationships in systems can only be described using probability. A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. Observable phenomena exist from very short to very long time periods. Cause and effect relationships are routinely identified and used to explain change. Things may change slowly or rapidly.
Vocabulary: geology, geologist, rock, mineral, metamorphic, igneous, sedimentary, fault, fault block, glacier, moraine, mountain, classify.
Science Standards This Program Meets
2-ESS1-1 Earth’s Place in the Universe
- Grade: 2nd Grade
- Discipline: Earth & Space Science
Use information from several sources to provide evidence that Earth events can occur quickly or slowly.
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3-LS3-2 Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits
- Grade: 3rd Grade
- Discipline: Life Science
Use evidence to support the explanation that observable traits can be influenced by the environment.
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3-LS4-1 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
- Grade: 3rd Grade
- Discipline: Life Science
Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
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3-LS4-4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
- Grade: 3rd Grade
- Discipline: Life Science
Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.
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4-ESS1-1 Earth’s Place in the Universe
- Grade: 4th Grade
- Discipline: Earth & Space Science
Identify evidence from patterns in rock formations and fossils in rock layers to support an explanation for changes in a landscape over time
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4-ESS2-2 Earth’s Systems
- Grade: 4th Grade
- Discipline: Earth & Space Science
Analyze and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth’s features.
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MS-LS1-5 From Molecules to Organisms: Structure and Processes
- Grade: Middle School
- Discipline: Life Science
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
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MS-LS2-4 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
- Grade: Middle School
- Discipline: Life Science
Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
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MS-LS4-1 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
- Grade: Middle School
- Discipline: Life Science
Analyze and interpret data for patterns in the fossil record that document the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of life forms throughout the history of life on Earth under the assumption that natural laws operate today as in the past.
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About Grand Teton National Park
Turn Grand Teton National Park into your classroom! We offer programs year-round including field trips with hands-on exploration, rangers visiting your classroom with park resources, or even opportunities to connect to rangers digitally. Topics range from “taking a walk on the wild side” with ecology, “rocking the Tetons” with geology, or learning that "every snowflake counts" from rangers sitting at a desk made of snow. If you don't see a program here that meets your needs, please contact park educators to explore options for a customized program.
View All Programs Visit Website| Who | Park rangers (GRTE_Education@nps.gov) |
| What | Field trips and classroom visits about ecology, geology, history, ranger careers, and outdoor leadership |
| When | All year |
| Where | In your national park or your classroom |
| Why | Because learning sticks when you experience the real thing! |