Thinking Outside the Dunes

Photo from John Tunison|MLive

MLive recently posted an article about MSGC awardee, Calvin University Professor Deanna van Dijk and her inventive idea for a solution to her annual class trip to the sand dunes. You can view the article here. MSGC was notified a couple weeks ago about the fun idea of bringing 300 cubic yards of sand to Calvin University for the students to study since COVID has made traveling to the dunes themselves out of the question. First-Year Research in Earth Sciences (FYRES) project stimulates STEM literacy and interest by targeting students at two strategic intervals in their education pathways: the first months of undergraduate education and later in undergraduate education when students are exploring their commitment to a STEM discipline. You can follow along with the project on their website where we will hopefully see more photos of Calvin’s new sand dunes throughout the semester.