Associate professor Stuart Birnbaum answers questions from visiting South
San Antonio School District middle school students. The science students learned
research methodology to answer questions raised during special field trips.
UTSA science professor guides South San Antonio students' research
(May 7, 2002)--More than 100 students representing three South San Antonio School District middle schools visited the 1604 Campus to find answers to questions they have raised following field observation and research field trips to Government Canyon State Natural Area, located five miles outside of Helotes in southwestern Bexar County.
The project is part of a National Science Foundation grant awarded in 2000 to Stuart Birnbaum, UTSA associate professor of geology, to establish field study and experimental programs for local schools. The sixth and seventh grade students came from Dwight, Kazen and Shephard Middle Schools.
"Students came up with a question and then followed the process to find out what they need to know and where to go to find the information they were looking for," said Birnbaum.
The students took two field trips to the 6,600 acre area and worked on mapping the site by measuring the dimensions and marking key points within the location.
"It was a very good learning experience for them," said Elsa Gonzales, science teacher at Dwight Middle School. "They learned how to find coordinates using a compass and they were able to measure their paces and convert them from meters to centimeters so they could fit on a smaller scale map."
The canyon, scheduled to be open to the public by 2004, was on the "Joe
Johnston" Road from San Antonio to Bandera which was blazed by the military
at Ft. Sam Houston in the 1850s. Texas Parks and Wildlife purchased the land
in 1993.
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© The University of Texas at San Antonio, 2002