Professional Development Opportunities
The Falls
of the Ohio State Park continues to be a leader in summer educator
workshops. We focus on fossils, geology and multi-disciplinary lessons. We are offering a NEW workshop in 2012 - see below!
* PGP credit is available for Indiana teachers through the Wilson Education Center.
* In-service credit (hours posted with each institute) is available
for Jefferson County Public School and Archdiocese of Louisville educators. Register through the school system, then contact us!!!
* Not with these schools? We will create a certificate of attendance upon request.
Pre-registration is required for all park-sponsored workshops by contacting park@fallsoftheohio.org or calling Alan at (812) 280-9970 x403. You will receive a confirmation by e-mail. Registration must be paid no later than two weeks before the PD session date. (MC-Visa-Discover and checks payable to the Falls of the Ohio Foundation are accepted.) More details on how to pay are under the links to Details with the workshops listed below.
Probing the Wonders of the Falls registration is through the Falls of the Ohio Foundation and the contact information is with the description.
You may pre-register at any time until April 1, 2012 without paying the registration fee. Workshop fees must be paid no later than two weeks in advance. If you are unsure but might be able to attend, you can contact us to see if any open slots are available and we will provide details about payment at that time. We usually have last minute cancellations.
Geology
& Paleontology
Field Paleontology Institute
Click for Details
June 19 - 21, 2012, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Fee: $30
18 hours
Instructor: Alan Goldstein, Interpretive Naturalist
Limit: 20 educators
How do I get fossils for the classroom? Are there other ways to use fossils in activities for students? What are the best resources available? This three-day workshop combines collecting fossils in the field with activities using those fossils in the classroom. Participants take two excursions to collect Ordovician and Silurian / Devonian fossils (which you can keep) as well as explore the park’s fossil bed (where you can observe, but not collect). Graduate credit (1.0 hour) may be available from IUS. Contact us for details by early April for arrangements.

Examining fossils on the upper beds Collecting Middle Mississippian fossils Finding Ordovician Fossils
Discovery Day - Field Paleontology Institute
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June 22, 2012, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Fee: $10
6 hours
Instructor: Alan Goldstein, Interpretive Naturalist
Limit: 20 educators
Participants will collect a variety of different types of Mississippian-age fossils in the morning. Afternoon time is used for identification. Shale can be used for in-class collecting activities. It is recommended (but not required) that participants take the three-day Field Paleontology Institute. If you want to have in-class fossil digs, bring a five-gallon bucket and a small shovel.
Identifiying fossils teachers collect during excursions away from the Falls of the Ohio
State Park is an important part of the Field Paleontology institutes.
Evolution and Adaptation
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June 25 & 26, 2012, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Fee: $45
12 hours
Instructors: Alan Goldstein, Interpretive Naturalist, Falls of the Ohio State Park
Doug McCoy, Assistant Curator of Education, Louisville Zoo
Limit: 20 participants
In partnership with the Louisville Zoo, this workshop is designed to help teachers and other interested educators better understand the unifying scientific concept of evolution. It will explore such questions as: What is science? What is the difference between a scientific theory and a belief? How do we tell geologic time? What is Natural Selection? Participants will learn a number of creative activities that can be put to use in the classroom. Content appropriate for grades 6 – 12.

Understanding 'what is a hypothesis?' Classification activity at the Zoo.
An activity at the Falls of the Ohio.
Pending!*
Connecting Geology and Habitat along the Ohio River
July 5 & 6, 2012, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Instructors: Alan Goldstein, Interpretive Naturalist (Geology component),
*Planned Naturalist (Ecology component) is being finalized.
Fee: $20
12 hours
Limit: 30 participants
This new two-day professional development workshop will focus on the interconnectedness of geology and habitat at two sites along the Ohio River: Charlestown State Park and Falls of the Ohio State Park.
The landscape in the Ohio Valley is shaped by the climate and geological history. There are three notable phases that have profoundly affected what we see today. The first is the origin of the bedrock, limestone and shale formed from the floor of ancient tropical seas. Second is formation of the Ohio River by the continental glaciers, combined with glacial erosion and sediment deposition. The third is the habitats that developed as the ice age ended and the impact of humans on the land today.
Multi-disciplinary Studies
Probing the Wonders of the Falls
June 7, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Instructor: Kenny Karem
Fee: $20 (includes the book)
3 hours
Limit: 20 participants
Sponsored by The Falls of the Ohio Foundation
To register: beth@fallsoftheohio.org or call (812) 283-4999
Discover the Falls of the Ohio with author and educator Kenny Karem. You will be guided through a variety of interactive, hands-on activities from Probing the Wonders of the Falls, an illustrated activity guidebook developed for educators and students. You will be exploring the visitor center and the outdoors fossil beds New feature! Interact with day camp students as everyone participates in a variety of interactive activities.

Educators do activities on the fossil beds, part of
the Probing the Wonders of the Falls workshop.
Program information is subject to change due to unforeseen
circumstances. Call (812) 280-9970 or e-mail us (park@fallsoftheohio.org) about programs in which you
want to participate.
To be Offered in 2013...
Fossils and Museums Institute (3 days)
TBD, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (limit 19 participants) (TBD) 18 hours
A joint professional development class with Bellarmine University's Dr. Kate Bulinski; funded through a Paleontological Society grant. Participants will visit the Falls Interpretive Center, Cincinnati Museum Center, and Indiana State Museum. Includes activities with education staff, museum tours and fossil collecting in the field.
Send a letter (one page, up to 500 words) to Dr. Kate Bulinkski, Bellarmine University - kbulinski @ bellarmine.edu as to how participation in this workshop will benefit your students.

At the Cincinnati Museum Center... At the Indiana State Museum...
Geology of Parks Institute (3 days)
To be offered in 2013, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (limit 20 participants) (Cost $30) 18 hours
This workshop invites teachers to use three different Indiana State Parks: Falls of the Ohio, Clifty Falls and Spring Mill to learn how the outdoors can be easily adapted as an real-world classroom. Each day will be spent at each park, lead by the respective park's Interpretive Naturalist. Details will be forthcoming. Content appropriate for a range of grade levels.

Investigating geology at Clifty Falls and Spring Mill State Parks
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Updated January 24, 2012 |