Just how firm is our foundation here in north-central Connecticut? There are seven layers, but it’s no piece of cake. Over millennia, continents right here have clashed, crashed and split, and volcanic eruptions blanketed one third of our state in lava. Connecticut’s rocks contain these stories; you just need the visual language to read them. Session One in the classroom uses rock samples to teach that language: metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks; shale, sandstone, schist and basalt. Then, on the field trip, you’ll see these rocks in situ (in the wilds of Canton!), including those seven-layer outcrops. It may shake your world, and you’ll never view your natural surroundings the same way.
Howard Wright recently retired after 45 years at Renbrook School, where he filled many roles including science department head, dean of students, and master calendar coordinator. He taught middle school Earth Science, focusing on the geologic history of Connecticut (Renbrook is located on Avon Mountain in West Hartford, the result of lava flows 180 million years ago). He twice received the Doug and Jane Cramphin Excellence in Education Award. He served on the Board of the Friends of Dinosaur State Park for 25 years, where he arranged a monthly lecture series with notable geologists, paleontologists, and paleobotanists from Wesleyan, Yale, Columbia, Western New England College, and UCONN. He is Connecticut’s preeminent Abraham Lincoln presenter and has portrayed the 16th president for 20 years.
Lecture: Thursday, April 30 | 1:30 p.m.–3 p.m. | Hillyer 125, Auerbach Auditorium
Field Trips: Thursday, May 7 | 10:45 a.m.–1 p.m. | OR | 1:30 p.m.–3:45 p.m. | $75 (includes field trip)
And you are welcome to bring snacks/sandwiches!
Please note: Participants must be able to get into and out of a van unassisted and walk 50 yards, and a liability waiver form will be provided to be filled out prior to field trip.
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Faculty and staff are eligible to take one Presidents' College lecture for free every semester, or to receive a one-session discount ($20) for a longer course. Contact us at pcollege@hartford.edu or 860.768.4495.
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