A Field Trip that Visits Your School
Story Through Stone enhances environmental education by posing a mystery.
How did these pictures get inside the stone?
The Mystery of “How” can be Solved by Science
In the Science portion of Story Through Stone, students are lead through a hands-on activity called "Grind and Find" to test if the imagery within the rock is in fact real. The students then learn how old the stones are (1.3-1.7 billion years), where they are from (Death Valley) and how the imagery was formed (sedimentation and oxidation of minerals). They may even glimpse how their image changed as they sanded the rock.
The Mystery of “Why” can be Solved with Stories
Storytelling creates a sense of connection with the natural world. Long ago, people used to tell stories about the world around them – the rocks, the trees, the landscape. These stories forged a sense of kinship with the land. In the Storytelling portion of Story Through Stone, the class forms partnerships and begins to form stories based off the stone imagery. These stories are then read or even performed at the end of class.
Why Story Through Stone?
With science today we know facts about the world we never knew before. We now know the environment needs our participation in its protection. It brings the ancient to the young, and raw wilderness to urban schools. If something as inanimate as a stone can be seen as alive and full of stories, how might the rest of the natural world be viewed?
Story Through Stone is where Science meets Art.
Call now to bring Story Through Stone to your school!
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Jim Quackenbush (1948-2002)
Cyndera Quackenbush
Jim Quackenbush "Mr. Q" was an educator and artist-explorer. In 1975, he uncovered the billion year-old stones in the Mojave Desert. After 18 years of searching for images in the stones, he created 'Cosmosis,' an event he brought to schools until his death in 2002. His daughter Cyndera is carrying on the legacy by bringing the stone collection to schools with Story Through Stone.
Cyndera Quackenbush "Ms. Q" is a storyteller and educator in San Francisco. She has an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute and has joyously worked in private education for the past three years. She has facilitated workshops with her inheritance of the billion year-old stones throughout the Bay Area and internationally.