GALENA, IL Teachers from across the State gathered for the Illinois Teachers Workshop: Rocks, Minerals & Mining in Today's Society, presented by the Illinois Association of Aggregate Producers (IAAP) at Chestnut Mountain Resort in Galena, Illinois. Everyone present refreshed their knowledge of earth science and learned so much more about the importance of stone, sand, industrial minerals, fossils, lead, zinc, and sustainability. This was the twenty-first year for the rocks, minerals & mining workshop.  

Lectures and hands-on activities presented by government, industry and academic professionals explored Illinois geology, mining, and the rocks and minerals used to make common products.  Hands-on activities, such as cookie mining, birdseed mining and layer cake core drilling, provided fun and exciting ways to engage students in learning about geological processes and mining economics.  Seminars including Life Cycle of a Mine: Exploration, Operation, Sustainability and Reclamation and Good Stone - Bad Stone, helped to illustrate the connection between the products we use today and the raw material source. Teachers also learned how to enhance understanding of geology using Google Earth and how previous participants were using workshop knowledge and experiences to teach students about geology, rocks, minerals and mining. 

Participants received many teaching aids including rock, mineral and fossil kits, lesson plans, visual aids and copies of speaker presentations. Dean Spindler (IDNR Office of Mines & Minerals) invited teachers to tour the agency's Mineral & Rock Box traveling trailer display before he gave everyone numerous rock and mineral samples mined in Illinois.  

Fieldtrips led by Don Mikulic (University of Illinois - retired), Joanne Kluessendorf (Weis Earth Science Museum) and Skip Nelson (Illinois State University) included a geology walk at the resort overlooking the Mississippi River and hunting for fossils and calcite inside Civil Material's Tranel Quarry.  Participants visited the Bevin's lead mine and Rollo Jamison Mining Museum in Wisconsin and walked to the top of Horseshoe Mound near Galena to see a beautiful view of the driftless area of Northwestern Illinois. 

All of the information and activities presented, as well as numerous educational materials provided to teachers, were designed to have practical applications for students in their classrooms.  The IAAP partnered with the Illinois Science Teachers Association and Illinois State University to facilitate professional development credit or graduate degree hours for all participants.  

View pictures and learn much more about the workshop on the IAAP website.

Sponsorship for this event is provided by IAAP member companies and PIE Committee fundraising including 50/50 drawings during the convention each spring as well as the upcoming IAAP golf outing.  IAAP thanks PIE Committee members for their contributions and fieldtrip companies for hosting our workshop participants so they may learn so much more about this industry.