Universitas Indonesia (UI) held activities at the Parangtopo FMIPA UI Nature Laboratory mini museum with the theme “Earth Science Learning House” to provide education about the geological diversity of the earth. Educational activities as part of community service (pengmas) were provided by a number of lecturers from the Geology Study Program, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) to students at SMA Negeri 1, Depok City, West Java.
Chair of the FMIPA UI Community Service Team, Reza Syahputra, Ph.D., said that this education is important because all aspects of human life depend on geological phenomena, such as energy, natural resources, and even disasters. With this education, students can get to know directly the various types of rocks that are common and often found in nature, as well as the dynamics of earth movement. The students not only learn from books, but also see and touch directly various rocks and minerals stored in the Parangtopo FMIPA UI Nature Laboratory mini museum.
“Education is provided through rock identification games in the Parangtopo Laboratory mini museum. It is hoped that this activity will provide an opportunity for students to be able to understand various types of rocks based on variations in their formation, as well as relate earth science theory to the reality around us,” said Reza.
In the activity which took place at the end of November (27/11), participants were invited to understand the dynamics of earth movement which is closely related to the movement of tectonic plates. According to Reza, all natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, occur due to the movement of tectonic plates in the continental and oceanic crust. The movement of these plates has a significant impact on the diversity of minerals and rocks on the earth’s surface. As a result, the earth has diverse geological zoning with unique rock compositions.
“To understand how the earth works, we can do this by observing the products of geological processes, one of which is rocks and minerals,” said Reza to dozens of students in front of him. Participants were then given the opportunity to view various collections, as well as physically identify minerals and rocks. They observed directly using a microscope of the rock material that had been cut. Participants were also invited to get to know common rocks, such as basalt, gabbro, granite and pumice; as well as rocks that have economic value, such as coal, and valuable minerals, such as chalcedony, quartz and jasper. Apart from that, several types of minerals were also introduced, such as amethyst, pyrite, azurite, and malachite< a i=4>.
Reza hopes that this activity will not only provide academic knowledge, but also provide direct experience for students to deepen their knowledge of geology. In this way, it is hoped that the younger generation will be more concerned and motivated to further understand the complexity of the Earth’s geological diversity.
