In this experiential laboratory, students explore the fossil fuel, coal, its geologic origins, its role in plate tectonics, and the implications of burning coal for climate change. The lab contains a virtual field trip to Joggins Fossil Park, where a coal forest is captured in the strata. Following is an activity where students plot the distribution of Glossopteris, a fossil coal plant, and align the continents to make sense of the fossil data (to form Pangea), which supported continental drift and ultimately plate tectonics. The lab concludes with a writing assignment on the impact of coal on global warming, answering guiding questions. This active learning experience weaves together theory and practice to develop a narrative of coal through the geologic record, bringing together biology, geology, climatology, and geologic time. The goals of introducing students to socioscientific issues and scientific literacy are covered in this laboratory by bringing geology "alive" through "doing science," working with data, and developing a narrative account of coal and its role. The outcomes for this lab are to encourage the participants to reflect on deep time, plate tectonics, challenging topics surrounding coal, and implications for issues the world is facing today.

Where in the World is Mineral Sandiego is an educational game that allows students to practice identifying locations using coordinates while indirectly teaching about mineral occurrences around the globe. In this game, students take on the role of a spy! Before the game begins, each spy will select a Spy Item and pick up a Detective Card that lists the minerals needed to make the Spy Item. During the game, spies will travel the world (finding locations based on latitude and longitude coordinates) to capture the minerals needed to complete their Spy Item. The first spy in a group to collect all minerals needed for their item is the winner, BUT the first group that obtains minerals needed for all their items becomes the SUPER SPY TEAM and gets extra credit. Mineral occurrences in the game are based off of the 2019 USGS Mineral Commodity Summary, which lists the mineral production of various countries. The game board includes the mineral production of the 3 highest producing countries. Post-game, students will fill out a group worksheet to wrap up what they've learned through game play and dive a bit deeper into mineral uses, cost of production and cost of manufacturing.

In this demo, we are teaching how food and water are connected, through the framework of water footprints. Put simply, it takes a lot of water to grow and manufacture food and understanding the water footprint of our diet is a great way to lessen our impact on our community and the planet. The activities shared in this demo help participants understand the connections between their food and the water it takes to make it. They will first take part in a flash card game that presents both direct and virtual water use scenarios, requiring the user to understand which type of water use scenario is being described. Next, participants will learn about the amount of water required to make three common food items. The amounts are often eye opening, leading people to quickly evaluate the impacts of their own diets. Finally, we will present a newly launched database of the water footprint of over 100 common food items—the Water Footprint of Food Guide.