Flagstaff Science Center Open House: Sunday was a huge success!

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Contents

Southwest Biological Center (SBSC): Arizona fish, aquatic insects, turtles and tortoises, and more.Arizona Water Science Center (AzWSC): What exactly is a gravity vehicle?Geology, Mining, Energy, Geophysics (GMEG): They are awesome!Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC): Riverboat

Visitors have the opportunity to see the Grover Geological Rover, the Hall of Maps, a map of the solar system, and visit AstroLink, a treasure trove of ASC history, cool globes, pictures, and maps. Astrogeology, which has been making maps since the 1960s, shows visitors how maps are made and how they are used to determine landing sites for missions.

Dr. Lori Pigue, Physical Scientist in Astrogeology, shared her thoughts on the day: “Sharing what everyone is doing in Astrogeology with anyone who will listen is one of my favorite things about my job!” Dr. Pigue helped organize the open house and spent the day as a “leg runner” and filling in where people needed help, making sure everyone had what they needed for the event. “I learned that you can see my shin splints on a thermal camera, and I also talked with Gerry about a document he wrote that I probably use at least once a week to share information with the public. It was a great day of learning and sharing, and I can’t wait to do it again next year!”

There were fun-filled activities like a “save the village” activity (where participants tried to save a village from a lava flow), seeing what different things and people look like in a thermal infrared camera, using an augmented reality sandbox to see how 3D maps work, a chance to walk on Mars, and watching open house presenters like River (below) show off his LEGO builds.

Dr. Ryan Anderson interacts with River’s space science collection. River built his own Mars rover and Ingenuity helicopter using LEGO bricks. There are also space shuttles, LRVs, research bases, and lunar space stations.

Southwest Biological Center (SBSC): Arizona fish, aquatic insects, turtles and tortoises, and more.

Photos from the Southwest Biological Center, including Arizona fish, aquatic insects, turtles and tortoises, and more.

Left: Visitors are amazed to see, read and learn about the types of fish native to Arizona.

Center photo: Biologist Morgan Ford took this photo of his son, Gabe, showing spawning at different water levels in the Grand Canyon. SBSC conducts high-quality, objective research on terrestrial and aquatic systems on the Colorado Plateau, the Colorado River and its tributaries, the drylands of the Southwestern United States, and beyond.

Right: Did you know that turtles and tortoises are both tortoises, but they are not the same? One way to tell them apart is that turtles live in water, while tortoises live on land. Visitors saw tortoise shells, photos of various turtles, and learned lots of fun facts about these cool reptiles. Did you know? “There are 356 species of turtles and tortoises worldwide, and about 61% of them are endangered or extinct.” Extinction“‘ah?’

Arizona Water Science Center (AzWSC): What exactly is a gravity vehicle?

If you try to imagine what a “gravity car” is, what do you imagine? Visitors learned about the U.S. Geological Survey’s Gravity Program gravity car, which is equipped with special equipment for measuring groundwater characteristics. The gravity car allows scientists to map changes in groundwater reserves and improve models that simulate groundwater flow.

Geology, Mining, Energy, Geophysics (GMEG): They are awesome!

GMEG displays a selection of rocks and minerals related to the Arizona geologic map. The rocks range from recent lava flow fragments, millennial basalts, to the oldest rock in the Southwest, the Elvis Canyon Gneiss (1.84 billion years old). They also display some fossils, fragments from the base of the North American plate (xenoliths), and a range of other Arizona rocks.

Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC): Riverboat

This is a photo of one of several boats that the GCMRC uses for river research. These boats are custom built to carry research equipment, travel supplies, or to navigate and assist with data collection.

During the open house, Ann-Marie Bringhurst showcased several of the vessels used by the GCMRC in their research into the biology, ecology and geology of the Colorado River as it travels through the Grand Canyon. Due to the remote nature of this environment and the technical whitewater navigation, each vessel is customized to carry research equipment, travel gear or to navigate and assist with data collection. Some of the largest vessels are 37 feet in length and can carry all the travel gear needed for an entire journey. The GCMRC also has a number of smaller, more navigable vessels that assist with data collection. Each river trip is customized with a variety of equipment, trip lengths and staff.

If you miss it, you can usually find us at the annual Flagstaff Science Festival (next one is scheduled for September 20-29, 2024). Astrogeology also offers tours by appointment. Please email: astro_outreach@usgs.gov At least 48 hours in advance

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