The GeoKids program was begun by Dr. Adina Paytan when her own daughter was in first grade. After making a successful visit to her daughter's school in order to introduce the children to geology, Adina formalized the program into GeoKids.

First and second graders participate in GeoKids field trips, coming to the university campus. There they participate in hands-on activities related to geology, moving through four "stations": minerals, rocks, soil, and fossils. Working for twenty minutes at each station with grad students, the kids get exposed to the actual research work done by geologists, including making and recording observations. Meanwhile the grad students – who volunteer to facilitate the field trips - get good teaching experience. Today every first grade class in two local school districts in the Santa Cruz area participate in GeoKids, and a third district is being added.

GeoKids in the News Click here to read a published article on GeoKids. Click here to view a news article about Geokids.

GeoKids was begun by Adina at Stanford University, and is also still being run there, bringing over 1000 kids a year to campus. "The program involves activities that will excite kids and engage them, and they are also learning fundamental science content," says Jenny Saltzman, director of outreach education in the School of Earth Science at Stanford, and who administers the GeoKids program there. "The program serves the local community, which includes underserved youth, and the kids are seeing good role models in the grad and undergrad students."