24 BOONE PICKENS SCHOOL OF GEOLOGY BPSoG High School Outreach Programs: the WRANE Program and GEO-REx Summer Field Experience BPSoG students and faculty participate in many different outreach programs during the year, including teacher education workshops, Grandparent University, and various school and program visits. We have developed a wide range of activities that introduce participants to various aspects of geoscience, such as rocks and minerals, water quality, and macro- and micropaleontology. The WRANE and GEO-REx programs were developed to increase the exposure of high school students to geoscience topics and provide them hands-on experience with geoscience research. The Water Research, Assessment, and Networking Ecosystem (WRANE) program was funded by the NSF to establish an out-of-school-time educational program that would introduce high school students to water geoscience topics and future careers with the hopes of increasing the number and diversity of geoscience majors at the university level. Each WRANE group consists of a high school or community college teacher and their students, supported by online and in-person networking, lab, and field instruction and supplies provided by BPSoG faculty and collaborators. Each group is also responsible for developing and executing a water-related community research project based on their interests and local concerns. We are currently in our second year of working with WRANE groups, several of which also participated last year. To support the educational aspect of the program, the grant PIs have created several instructional videos on a wide range of water-related topics, including geochemistry, geophysics, sedimentology, and paleontology. Demonstrations of field experiments and laboratory equipment have also been filmed and made available to the WRANE groups. Groups have also had the chance to visit the BPSoG facilities or have the opportunity for a faculty mentor to visit their schools and assist with their project. This past summer, we held the inaugural WRANE summer symposium to bring together the different WRANE groups and allow them to meet each other, exchange ideas, network, and learn about career and educational pathways in the geosciences. Each group presented their research projects, which ranged from the impact of a new bridge over the local river to the water quality near the Tar Creek Superfund site to the impact of urban runoff on a local creek. Students and teachers also interacted with several professionals from a wide range of water and environmental geoscience organizations, including the EPA, USGS, and OK DEQ. Student survey data indicates that participating the in the WRANE program has resulted in an increasing positivity towards science-related careers. Outside of the symposium, WRANE groups have also presented their research at science fairs and the 2023 GSA South-Central Section Meeting. Dr. Quan with the GEO-REx 2023 geochemistry research group.
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