Can't Come to Us? We can Come to You!
The "Geobago" is the outreach vehicle and mobile classroom of the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Appalachian State University.
The Mobile Earth and Environmental Science Lab
The "Geobago" is a renovated RV that was rolled out in September 2018 for the ASU Homecoming Parade and since then, has been in operation visiting schools and informal science centers around the Western North Carolina region and the Piedmont. The mobile lab/ classroom is outfitted with:
- electrical outlets
- water source and a wet bench
- environmental science probes
- computer technology
- microscopes
The Geobago also stores many hands-on activities centered around rock and mineral identification, paleontology, hydrology and environmental science and has already visited schools and informal science centers through out western North Carolina and the Piedmont. Some events it has participated in so far include: Hardin Park School Science Day (Boone), Career Day at Charles McCrary Elementary School (Asheboro), Hiddenite Arts Heritage Festival (Hiddenite), and events at the Schiele Museum in Gastonia, Durham Museum of Life and Science and ETSU Gray Fossil Site in Washington County, TN.
The Geobago in the news! Thank you to Spectrum News Carolina for featuring our program, check out the newsclip here.
For more details about the Geobago or information on how to request a visit, please contact GES Outreach Coordinator Marta Toran at toranml@appstate.edu.
What types of activities do we offer with the Geobago?
The nature of the activities offered with the Geobago depend on the needs of the teacher, number of student that we will be hosting, etc. Some things to consider are:
- whether there is parking for the RV that is easily accessible from the classroom/ where the students are coming from,
- only 10 or so students can fit comfortably in the RV at a time and be able to do hands-on activities,
- the Geobago program only runs March-May and end of September - October (sometimes early November if the weather on the mountains is mild),
- the Geobago leaves from Boone, NC as early as 8:00am, so the time a program can start will depend on travel time to your site and set up
Usually we are able to visit with a class of about 24 students per hour (we split them up into two groups and do some activities inside the mobile lab and some outside or in the classroom and rotate). We can also do bigger events such as career days, environmental field days or science festivals, where the Geobago is one of the stations students (or the general public) can visit. Please complete the GES Outreach Request form to provide us details about what type of program you are interested in and we will follow up with you.