Volcanology for Earth Science Teachers (VEST), a teacher enhancement project conducted by the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH-Hilo), was funded by the National Science Foundation from 1994 to 1996. During the project, a total of 75 middle- and secondary-school Earth science teachers from Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California participated in the three-week summer workshop, which consisted of classroom sessions held at UH-Hilo and in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park plus field excursions to the five volcanoes that make up the island of Hawaii. In the VEST workshop, the teachers gained information and teaching ideas about volcanic processes, products, and features; volcanic and related hazards; and eruption monitoring and prediction. The teachers, who were selected through a competitive application process, were required to develop a lesson plan for a teaching activity related to volcanology, conduct an inservice program in their school district based on their VEST experiences, and contribute an article to the bi-monthly VEST newsletter. Project LAVA is a self-supporting educational program that continues to offer the VEST experience to all teachers.
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