San Joaquin Valley Rocks!! (SJV Rocks!!)

Helping Teachers to Inspire Future Geoscientists

Welcome to SJV Rocks!!  Our goal is to help you inspire new geoscientists by providing you with exciting new ways to engage your students with local geology and providing you with all the necessary resources for you to be confident in your knowledge of the topics.  There are abundant jobs, here, in Kern County and around the world for Earth Scientists.  We want to make sure that our children are poised to take advantage of these opportunities.

Classroom Activities
On these webpages you will find brand new innovative, hands-on, inquiry-based classroom activities that focus on four important Earth science themes that are part of the unique geologic character of our area and the focus of real research of facutly at CSUB.  The classroom activities were created by teams of exceptional local teachers, college students and scientists and were tested in Kern County classrooms.

CSU Bakersfield
The Department of Geological Sciences at CSU Bakersfield is committed to enhancing Earth Science education in our local schools.  Feel free to contact us if there is some way that we can be of assistance.  Use these resources as they suit your needs.  If you find innovative applications or improvements contact us so that others can benefit from your experiences.

Support for SJV ROCKS!!
SJV Rocks!! was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in Geosciences (OEDG) Program  and supported by the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering at California State University Bakersfield and the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin.

Work was completed in collaboration with the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History and the Kern County Museum.  Both Museums in Bakersfield, CA have wonderful facilities and additional resources for teaching students about the Earth Sciences.

SJV Rocks!! Educational Materials were created by teams of teachers, college students and scientists from Bakersfield, CA

Teachers:
Rayshell Fambrough, Voorhies Elementary School
Bruce Hamilton, Chavez Elementary School
Adam Herrera, Stockdale High School
Kathryn Irwin, Stiern Middle School
Bethany Knott, Shafter High School
Teri Madewell, South High School
Karen Nicholson, American Elementary School
Emily Salazar, Frontier High School

College Students:
Gina Gonzalez, CSUB
Kelsey Pedilla, CSUB
Alyshia Parnell, CSUB
Joseph Scott, CSUB
Robert Kelty, CSUB
Raisa Lora, CSUB
Jennifer Head, CSUB
Martin Jimenez, CSUB
Travis Aragon, CSUB

Scientists:
Patrick Mickler, CSUB
Peter Wigand, CSUB and Univ. Nevada at Reno
Tim Elam, Buena Vista Museum of Natural Sciences
Dan Tuttle, Kern County Muesum