About GetWET

The GetWET (GroundWater Education and Teaching) Observatory at Colorado State University (CSU) was designed to enhance undergraduate geology courses for majors and nonmajors by providing hands-on, field-based learning opportunities in surface and groundwater processes. The Observatory is based on educational best practices that promote experiential and inquiry-based learning in a way that emphasizes the relevance of the learning activities for students. Three main objectives of the GetWET Observatory include: 1) to position it as a critical component of the newly designed Introductory Geology Laboratory focused on hands-on field and laboratory exercises and small group learning, 2) to integrate the Observatory into the entire four-year geosciences curriculum, and 3) to include middle and high school students and teachers in a way that offers students a positive, hands-on, pre-college experience at CSU, and provides for adequate teacher training through CSU-hosted teacher workshops on surface water and groundwater interactions. The Observatory consists of six groundwater monitoring wells adjacent to Spring Creek, a perennial stream on campus property. The wells will augment two existing groundwater irrigation wells and a surface monitoring station for spatially diverse surface and groundwater coverage at the Observatory. Future development within the area of the Get WET Observatory will provide a rich opportunity for students to assess hydrologic impacts of land use changes within their hometown watershed.

Public dissemination of the educational data set will greatly increase the utility of the Observatory beyond its physical boundary on the CSU campus. Collaboration between three departments and a research and outreach center builds a community of scholars versed in teaching groundwater-related subjects. Outreach initiatives associated with the Observatory include collaboration with local middle and high school science teachers, two teacher education workshops to train 25 teachers each year in surface and groundwater interactions, field exercises developed for middle and high school students, and TA support for instructional assistance. Over the funding period, the GetWET Observatory will support four undergraduate geology teaching assistants, two undergraduate student hourly hires, and one Ph.D. student as a half-time student hourly for two years.

The GetWET Observatory is a collaborative effort between the CSU Department of Geosciences (College of Natural Resources), the Center for Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education (College of Natural Sciences), and the Poudre School District. The GetWET Observatory is funded by the National Science Foundation's Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement initiative.