Student geologists, high school students... All together in Iceland!
Students from the Master's programsin"Earth Dynamics and Natural Hazards" and "Exploration and Reservoir Geology" have joined forces in the annual Intergenerational Geologists Link (LIG) project.
This project has been running since 2012 under the leadership of the Association of Masters in Geosciences at the University of Montpellier (Student Chapter AAPG). This year, the project is being conducted throughout the academic year through a regional tutoring program for11th grade students at the Pablo Picasso High School in Perpignan, which has decided to focus its school project on geosciences.
From left to right, front row: Thomas Moreau, Laurie Tchang-Tchong, Taïs Franchet, Marie Jacottin, Charlotte Guérin, Solène Meyer, Maryem Khyatte
Second row: Victor Bonnet, Aurélien Gay, Corentin Gardes, Gabriel Pasquet, Théo Bourgeois, Gyde Feiry Chris Bahonda, Maxime Catinat, Flavien Woirin, Antoine Mullor, Marialine Chardelin, Alexandre Lemoyne
High school students, college students, teachers: together
Starting in September 2017, high school students spent six months preparing a poster and a practical experiment on topics as varied as volcanology, geysers, hot spots, geothermal energy, and peri-volcanic basins. They presented the results of their work publicly at the end of March 2018. Thanks to their experience and expertise, the master's students helped them to produce these materials in English. This tutoring took the form of remote exchanges using standard digital means (email, telephone, videoconferencing, etc.), with the high school students dedicating one hour per week to this project under the supervision of their science and English teachers.
Iceland: a natural laboratory
As part of an existing twinning arrangement with a high school in Reykjavik, high school students from Perpignan traveled to Iceland on April 5, 2018, accompanied by master's students. This was an opportunity to see in situ what they had studied during the year and also to sample some characteristic rocks, which they brought back in their luggage. The aim here is to show them the scientific approach behind field geology. They also took the opportunity to visit a geothermal plant and the iconic sites of Iceland, a formidable natural laboratory.
On their return, the high school students were invited to Montpellier University for a day of analysis. The program included cutting their samples, making thin sections, and observing them under a binocular microscope, under the guidance of their master's degree mentors, of course. It was an opportunity to discover the university environment through a guided tour of the Montpellier Geosciences Laboratory, the DESTEEM teaching department, and the Faculty of Sciences on the Triolet campus.
Open house
The association members returned to Montpellier to prepare for the third and final phase of the project: the open house on May 31. The day was filled with experiments and analyses, including cutting samples, making thin sections, and observing them under a binocular microscope. During the day, high school students came to familiarize themselves with the university environment on the Triolet campus: the Montpellier Geosciences Laboratory, the DESTEEM teaching department, and the Faculty of Sciences. They were joined by students from a fourth-grade class in Lavérune, accompanied by members of CERGA, the association of geoscience alumni.