Connecting K-12 Students to Soil Science: Examples from the UA I-STEM Mentoring Program and the UA Sky School.

The objective of this work was to develop and implement soils activities and projects for two science education and outreach programs hosted by the University of Arizona (UA). The UA i-STEM Mentoring Program is a NSF-funded initiative designed to address the low number of Hispanics and Native Americans represented in STEM fields, particularly in Arizona where these groups compose >30% of the population yet only 2% earn degrees in science and technology. Through a UA NASA Space Grant, educational modules were developed to bring space and soil science to 3^rd-8^thgrade student mentees and their mentors participating in the i-STEM Mentoring Program. The resulting modules, which included soil texturing, soil painting, and a field trip to the UA Campus Agricultural Center, successfully integrated activities using satellite imagery to explore the Earth’s surface from space with a closer investigation of soils in the local community.

            The UA Sky School is an immersive outdoor science program where K-12 students use the scientific method to complete multi-day inquiry research projects under the direction of graduate students. The goal of the Sky School program is to foster a cross-disciplinary understanding of the natural world using hands-on field science teaching techniques.  Students are introduced to soils through exploratory activities that highlight changes in soil depth, soil color, and mineral composition across a climate gradient, beneath contrasting vegetation types, and between different parent materials. Student groups working on multi-day inquiry projects focus on numerous soils-based research questions including how soils change pre- and post-fire and how vegetation impacts soil properties. This work demonstrates the applicability of soils in science outreach programs and how soil activities can be integrated into pre-existing educational curriculums.