This activity is designed for use in freshman introductory geoscience and life science courses (intro to physical geology, historical geology, paleontology), but can also be used in a wide array of formal and informal educational settings. It is a self-guided virtual field trip (VFT) with free exploration that gives the instructor maximum flexibility to customize the learning outcomes.

Students should be familiar with geologic time (or deep time), weathering and erosion, basic types of rocks, the rock cycle, age dating of rocks, and basic types of fossils.

This is designed to be a stand-alone activity to be used after students have some basic knowledge of geology.

Activity Length

This activity involves free exploration so its duration is set by the teacher. Exploration of all the virtual field sites with embedded media which includes still images of the rock outcrops, videos and an interactive gigapixel images, can take a week of class time. There are two additional VFTs that have a guided format that involve less time to experience. We suggest using targeted sections of this self-guided VFT for specific learning outcomes.

In this self-guided VFT, learners will visit the Grand Canyon, one of the deepest gorges on Earth, to investigate nearly two billion years of geologic history. They will discover unique locations along the Colorado River to see how the river and rocks changed. The free exploration format gives teachers the opportunity to design and customize activity goals to fit their curriculum.

Suggested outcomes could include:
Learning outcome #1: Identify various rock types and their ages
Learning outcome #2: Recall what animals might have existed when these layers were being deposited
Learning outcome #3: Examine the characteristics unique to each rock type
Learning outcome #4: Recognize unconformities and what they represent
Learning outcome #5: Distinguish how and where sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks are formed
Learning outcome #6: Describe different types of sedimentary structures and what they indicate
Learning outcome #7: Investigate what rock units form aquifers
Learning outcome #8: Explain the main ways geologists date rocks
Learning outcome #9: Recognize types of deformation in rocks and how they are formed

Learners explore the breathtaking geology and landscapes of the Grand Canyon, observe the rocks and fossils, learn how the Canyon formed, and explore how it has changed over the past 2 billion years.

Making observations, identify patterns, providing evidence to support reasoning.

This activity is accessible at https://vft.asu.edu/ through the Center for Education Through eXploration (https://etx.asu.edu/) at Arizona State University. They build adaptive digital learning experiences for K-12 education that engage learners in virtual environments and bring Earth and space science to life.

Technology Needs

Real-time Internet access is required to view this VFT. We recommend the use of the browsers Google Chrome or Firefox for the best results. It is not optimized for viewing on mobile devices.

There are no embedded assessments associated with this self-guided VFT and it is up to the teacher to design an assessment tool to meet whatever learning outcomes they specify. Students can be asked to answer an essay question explaining some aspect of the VFT experience.