Photo: Lee Pellegrini

School of Rocks

涩里番下载 Earth and Environmental Studies Chair Ethan Baxter is making videos to get kids interested in geosciences.

涩里番下载 Earth and Environmental Studies Chair Ethan Baxter uses isotope geochemistry to measure geologic time. At the core of this work鈥攁nd of his career鈥攁re the tales rocks tell. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a theme that really transcends all of my teaching and most of my research,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou start with the rocks and the earth materials and the stories evolve from there.鈥 He maintains a childlike wonder about the natural world, so much so that he鈥檚 sharing it with the elementary school set. Over the summer, he filmed and released a 44-episode The short videos, featuring Baxter surrounded by stones, are fun, but the mission is serious: to get kids interested in geosciences. 鈥淧eople think about rocks and they might think about earthquakes and mountains,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also about climate change, agriculture, water, Mars exploration, resources, energy, and technology鈥攖he most important, challenging problems that face society today.鈥 鈥Courtney Hollands