LOSTANT, IL  Marjorie Archdale and her students from Lostant Grade School in Lostant, Illinois, visited the Lafarge Utica Quarry to learn more about all the products being mined and how a mine operates. Archdale attended the IAAP's Teachers Workshop in 2007 and had asked the IAAP for assistance in setting up the fieldtrip. IAAP PIE Committee Chairman, Dan Larson, works for Lafarge and agreed to facilitate the visit along with Utica Quarry Plant Manager Jason Falk and Territory Manager Cathy Sukley.

Archdale said students have studied mine safety and learned how rocks and minerals form, how they are mined, and how they are used. And for the highlight of the visit, one student was chosen to help initiate a blast at the quarry.

Prior to the visit, Archdale went before the Lostant school board asking for fieldtrip approval to help students learn more about how important mined materials are in everyday life. Board President Mike Phillips is a Geology Professor at Illinois Valley Community College and helped ensure school board approval. After the fieldtrip, Phillips was quoted in the Tonica Times saying, "The kids had a great time, and I think they learned something."