Mission:  

CoreKids’ fundamental mission is to increase public awareness and understanding of Michigan’s geological processes and materials, natural resources, natural hazards, environmental concerns, and geologic history.    

Strategy: 

Our mission is accomplished by providing K-12 curriculum materials and outreach services to Michigan’s schools, teachers, students, non-profit organizations, and the public, all without charge.  Topics covered in our curricular materials include groundwater, rocks and fossils, critical minerals, earthquakes and volcanoes, climate change, and space exploration. CoreKids services include classroom visits by teaching staff, school field trips to MGRRE and the WMU Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, curriculum resources for classrooms, as well as community events and presentations. CoreKids aims to be a resource for Michigan teachers to use and rely on for geologic education.    

History and Accomplishments: 

When the Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education (MGRRE) was established in 2006 with funds from the US Department of Energy, scientists at the facility made education a priority and created a K-12 outreach program.  Later, when the Michigan Geological Survey (MGS) was relocated to WMU in 2011, the resulting program known as CoreKids became the outreach arm of MGS, MGRRE and the WMU Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences.  The relationships between these entities are crucial to the success of the CoreKids program as it can take advantage of the multitude of resources and educational facilities each offers to bring real Earth Science to K-12 students.   

CoreKids has enriched the earth science education of over 100,000 southern Michigan K-12 students to date, many of whom come from at-risk populations. Furthermore, CoreKids staff have interacted with hundreds of classroom teachers from across the state of Michigan by presenting workshops and exhibits at meetings of the Michigan Earth Science Teachers’ Association, the Michigan Science Teachers’ Association, and other teachers’ groups.