Highly Allochthonous

This week, we're helping push the Geobloggers Giving Kids the Earth challenge, by promising that Chris or I will write a post on a topic chosen by our readers for each project that is fully funded by the end of the week.

To finish out the week with a rattle and boom, let's push ourselves and round up $584 for a project on the "charismatic megafauna" of geology: volcanoes and earthquakes. Shake, Rattle, and Measure, is for a sixth-grade class in Arkansas that wants a seismograph model, erupting volcano pack, and books and DVDs about volcanoes and earthquakes. As their teacher writes:

The light of my life this year is my sixth grade class who appear to be so eager to learn just about anything. This is a high risk area that really could use any help you are willing to give. They are a very energetic group of young people who are going to do great things in life. These students have positive attitudes and with your help, I will try to help them reach their full potential.

The only thing standing in the way of greatness is the lack of supplies. The minds and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve are the least of worries. This class has many bright and potential leaders. They are very interested in plate tectonics and are looking forward to the hands-on activities that the lab will provide.

Please spare a few dollars for "Shake Rattle and Measure" or give to another Oregon classroom in need of rocks, earth science books, and a globe. Don't like the project I've picked? Take a look at the rest of the Geobloggers Giving Kids the Earth giving page and find the one the best suits your fancy.

Thanks to everyone for helping out. So far we have funded two of the projects I featured this week, and we are on our way to funding two more. On top of that, several other projects from the challenge were funded with donations from geoblog readers or members of the Earth Science Women's Network. Thanks to all of our readers for playing along this week and putting up with my incessant begging. When Earth Science week is officially over - we'll call it the start of formal sessions at GSA on Sunday morning - Kim and I will tally up the number of projects completed this week and let you know how to nominate topics for Chris and I to write about. I'll be at GSA for pretty much all of next week, so I promise that if I manage to post at all, there will be a much higher science to fundraising ratio. But before I shush up, I will remind you that the geoblogger challenge lasts all month, and the need for donations to fund science in the public schools never goes away.