The Geoscience Foundation of Tulsa will celebrate our K-12 Teacher of Year Award!!
and posters with University Scholarships, OU, OSU, U Arkansas
Thursday, April 24h at the Tulsa Junior League 3633 S Yale Ave
Student posters 5:30pm /Dinner 6:30pm/Speaker 7:00pm
Rick Fritz presents...
Wide, Wide World of Weird Geo, an interactive talk/game of the amazing world of Geologic oddities!
CLICK here to register or sponsor
2024 was a huge year for the GFT!!
- We awarded over $4000 to local K-12 schools and teachers that allowed teachers and students to attend science field trips and purchase supplies for classrooms.
- The Foundation provided $9000 to University students in Oklahoma who study Natural Sciences.
These gifts would only be possible because of your generous support. Please continue to help with our mission to provide these opportunities to teachers and students of Oklahoma!!
Wide, Wide World of Weird Geo
Rick Fritz
Humans have always had a strong curiosity for nature and a passion for exploration. From the highest mountains to the deepest seas, and ultimately to any wilderness on earth and space. Many of those explorers were geoscientists or at least practiced “geoscience” whether they knew it or not. Due to their passion for discovery, geoscientists are some of the most interesting professionals in the world. When I tell someone that I am a “geologist” I usually get a very positive response such as “Wow”. Geologists are typically portrayed in a positive manner in many narratives and in particular movies, television, and streaming series. Nevertheless, geoscience is slowly disappearing in our schools and universities. Society is more interested in finance, advertising, and tech and less science. Schools do not train enough earth science teachers or provide curriculum in high school. Yet it is a crucial science to understand how earth was created and how life has evolved over time. If that was not the case then why do they keep sending geologists to Mars! (think about that one). In a thirty-minute presentation I cannot possibly tell you how important geology is to our everyday lives so instead I’ll show you some intriguing geology to think about. Following, Donald Miller’s Storyboard framework, I will be your “guide” and you, the audience, will be the “heroes” as you go through the process of discovery. As part of the plan all the “heroes” will take a test by looking at photos of weird geology (somewhat disguised) and try to identify three things—1) what they are, 2) where they are, and 3) how they were made. You will have 10 seconds for each of the ten photos to write down your answers. Then we will return to photos (undisguised) and discuss your answers and thoughts about their geology. In the end we will discuss the relevance of geoscience in society and how enjoyable geoscience is as a career. Geology is challenging and also fun as we understand the world and space around us.
Short Bio for Richard D. Fritz
Rick Fritz is a certified professional geoscientist who has two degrees, BS and MS in geology, from Oklahoma State University. He started his career with Exxon in 1977, he was president of Masera Corp a research company from1981-1999, worked as a senior technical expert for SM Energy from 2011 to 2015, and was CEO of Council Oak Resources an EnCap startup from 2015 to 2018. Rick has been involved with AAPG in many capacities including Executive Director from 1999 to 2011 plus many volunteer positions including president of the Division of Professional Affairs from 2015 to 2016, Chair of Datapages, Inc from 2012 to 2018, and AAPG president from 2020 to 2021. Rick is currently the GEO-CEO of Xplora Energy, Inc. a U.S. independent limited liability company.
CLICK here to register or sponsor
Tulsa Geological Society