Education & Outreach

Education Outreach Programs

Outreach programs manifest our core RFS value of lifelong learning. Our programs meet four requirements:

• They ignite curiousity
• They immerse the participant in the natural world
• They invite speculative creativity
• They inspire the pursuit of further learning

If we are successful, we will imbue new generations of all ages with science appreciation and wonderment that can influence their vocational and avocational pursuits. We put special emphasis on participation of under-served communities to enrich learning and life opportunities.

Educational Materials

The Sciences of Reynolds Field Station

The natural environment of the Reynolds Field Station presents an entire constellation of sciences to study and understand, both as individual disciplines and more powerfully, as overlapping and interdependent disciplines. The diagram below captures the many sciences that come into play at RFS, and highlights why interdependent, cross-disciplinary collaboration is core to the way research is conducted at RFS.

Many, if not most, researchers are highly specialized, with deep knowledge in very specific subjects. To develop a broad understanding and complete perspective for reconstructing the environment or answering a scientific question at RFS, it is essential to integrate multiple sources of expertise in interpretations of the data the physical environment there provides. This is the key aspect of the approach we take in our scientific research programs. In education, we focus on teaching the principles of interpreting what the field environment is telling us in multiple dimensions, and augment that back in the lab with microscopic and chemical analyses. Interpretation is also predicated on consistency with regional context, to ensure we are not crafting “postage stamp” conclusions. This approach necessarily includes reaching out to researchers working outside our back yard, in our quest to tackle “Big Science Questions”.

Glossary of Field Station Sciences and Terminology

To assist in understanding the descriptions of science programs and papers presented on our website, we offer this glossary of technical vocabulary in simple language, explained in the context of the Reynolds Field Station. If you see a word you aren’t familiar with on our web pages, check out the Glossary for a plainEnglish explanation!

We are also continuously creating short, explanatory white papers, or offering references to sources that explain key topics. You are welcome to submit requests (link) for definition additions or white papers to be added to this website.

Glossary of Terms in the Context of Reynolds Field Station

White Papers

In this section we will present White Papers written in plain, everyday language that explain some of the science behind the research and learning at the Field Station. Here is a list of the White Papers we are working on, check the News section for new additions to this space, or Contact Us to be added to our mailing list so we can let you know when we add new material.

• Life on the Shores of the Western Interior Seaway 85 Million Years Ago
  • A description of how and where the Seaway formed, and its imprint on the climate, life and rocks we see at the Field Station with lots of pictures to help you visualize the ancient life.
• The Power of Paleobotany: A Story of Global Domination
  • The amazing story of how fossils of plants, bug tracks, pollen and spores provide clues to help us recreate the environment and allow us to paint a picture of life 85 million years ago. Paleobotany is filling in a gap in our understanding of how and when flowering plants migrated to our latitudes from the tropics and came to dominate the landscape on the planet.
• Geochemistry Magic: Retracing the Cross-Country Journey of Sand Grains 85 Million Years Ago
  • An explanation of the high tech tools that coax astonishing, hidden secrets from tiny grains of sand in the rocks collected at the Field Station. How do we tell what mountain ranges produced the sand grains that journeyed to our ancient shoreline, and when were those distant mountain ranges shedding all that sand? What were the temperatures back then? Geochemistry unlocks the answers!
• CSI RFS: The Mystery of the Siderites
  • The evolving Crime Scene Investigation surrounding the great mystery that New Mexico State University geologists are working on in Program NMSU003 (see the Programs & Research Page) will be revealed as we progressively uncover clues. Just like a CSI case, they are using super high tech tools to tease out the mysterious origins of a rock we are finding all over the Field Station, called siderite. We believe solving this mystery will shed light on some of the Big Science Questions currently unanswered at RFS. Join us as we build the case!