Dear Rendezvous Participants,
It is hard to believe we have arrived at the final full day of the 2026 Earth Educators' Rendezvous! Thursday is packed with great programming, so let's make the most of it. Here is everything you need to know:
Morning Workshops — 8:30–11:30am
Morning workshops wrap up today. If you are enrolled in a 4-day workshop, this is the final session. If you are enrolled in a Wednesday–Thursday workshop, today is Day 2.
Second chance to see Student Posters!
There was overwhelming interest in bringing back the student posters, so students have been invited to put their posters back up in Jones Hall. This will be display only, not another poster session. But if you missed your chance to get to everything, now is your chance!
Special Interest Group (SIG) Sign-Ups
SIG sign-ups are available again: same-day, first-come, first-served on the sign up sheets by Jones 120 (just past the Registration desk). Last chance to gather your group! We will do our final drawing of the week at the Registration desk at 4:30 at the start of the SIG slot.
Lunchtime — 11:30 am–1:30pm
Four lunchtime options are available Thursday:
- NAGT Leadership Session: Getting Involved in NAGT Leadership: Opportunities and Benefits (12:00–1:00pm) — EWSC 102. If you have ever wondered how to get more involved with NAGT, this session is a great opportunity to learn about leadership roles and what they can offer you professionally.
- Anne Frank Center Tour (12:00–1:00pm, pre-registration required) — meet at the Registration Table by 11:45am (note: this tour will start walking at 11:45am as noted in the pre-EER e-mail).
- NEW!Conserving the Past for the Future (12:00-1:00pm) -- meet at the front of the McKissick Museum for a tour of the Rock Room storage space of McKissick's Natural History collection. Over 15,000 rocks, minerals, and fossils are stewarded in this room including specimens from Thomas Cooper's own collection purchased by the state in 1823. Learn about museum practices, research opportunities and educational support, and engage in conversation regarding specimen packaging and transportation.
- Did you miss the Rare Books Tour Monday? Original works by Darwin, Curie, Lyell and more are still available for viewing today on your own from 10-3 in the Hollings Reading Room, which can be accessed through the main level of Thomas Cooper Library at 1322 Greene Street.
Afternoon Contributed Oral Sessions — 1:30–4:00pm
All participants are invited to attend the afternoon contributed oral sessions in Jones 002.
Afternoon Mini-Workshops — 1:30–4:00pm
Thursday's afternoon mini-workshops (open to all, no advance registration needed) include:
- Data, Place, and Pedagogy: Engaging students with urban earth systems; EWSC 209
- Engagement in Geoscience Education Advocacy: How and Why; Jones 104
- Identity as a tool: Empowering students to bring their whole selves to the field; Coker 104
- Exploring Geoscience Solutions to Energy and Climate; Coker 102
Ice Cream Social — 4:30 – 5:30pm
Join us in Jones PSC Lobby for our ice cream social— stop by and celebrate making it to the last day! Share photos with longtime friends and new friends using the hashtag #EarthER26!
Donate!
Did you have an amazing time at the Rendezvous? Help keep this important program going. Help us reach our goal of raising $2000 during the Rendezvous to support the NAGT community! Donate today.
A Note on Departures
If you are leaving on Thursday evening, there is a locked room to store bags at the meeting. Ask for help at the front desk.
Thank you for making this Rendezvous such a special gathering. We hope you are leaving with new ideas, new connections, and renewed energy for the work you do. We look forward to seeing you again in 2028 and in the meantime, keep the conversations going!
Share Your Rendezvous Work in In the Trenches
Want to continue to share your ideas from the Rendezvous? Consider submitting an article for In the Trenches, NAGT's quarterly magazine for Earth educators. The magazine welcomes short, practical pieces that other instructors can put to use right away, including (1) classroom or field activities you developed or refined here; (2) reflections on a teaching challenge that a Rendezvous session helped you think through; (3) descriptions of programs, partnerships, or initiatives presented this week. Articles are reviewed by the editorial board and written for a broad audience, so no formal research design is required. Submission guidelines are available at nagt.org, and the editors are happy to talk through an idea before you write.
Questions?
For programmatic questions, contact Co-chairs Barbra Sobhani, Colorado Space Grant Consortium (COSGC) (Barbra.Sobhani@Colorado.EDU) and Alexandra Davatzes, Temple University (alix@temple.edu).
For questions about the campus, Columbia, or the dorms, contact local hosts Katherine Ryker, University of South Carolina (kryker@seoe.sc.edu) and Michelle Hardee, University of South Carolina (HARDEEM@mailbox.sc.edu)
Warmly,
The Earth Educators' Rendezvous Organizing Team