Abstract:

Geology is one of the basic sciences to understand the environment that surrounds us and sustains life on planet Earth. As such, citizens should have some basic notions about this science to allow them to value and protect this environment. However, in most European countries, and among them in Spain, in the pre-university educational curricula it does not appear with a similar development to that of other sciences, such as biology, physics or chemistry. In the face of this situation, the efforts of Geology professionals (i.e., teachers and scientific disseminators) are of great importance in the non-formal teaching of this science.

In this work, we present the development of a didactic proposal for teaching some notions of Geology (crystallization, mineralogy, sedimentary processes and environments, hydrogeology, etc.) through a tasting workshop of mineral salts of different origins.

This proposal is not only motivating because of its eminently relaxed and participatory format, but because it can be developed simultaneously with a very varied audience. This permits not only the attendance of family audiences, which is not common in scientific activities, but also of people with functional diversity. This is possible because its design follows the guidelines of universal design for learning and by using multisensory materials hence, it allows to be an entirely inclusive activity.

For the salt tasting workshop, a variable number of mineral salts are selected (depending on the time available on each occasion) and is accompanied by a series of explanations through a slide presentation and specially designed tactile materials. The selection of salts is not only made according to geological factors (e.g., provenance or genesis) but also taking into account other aspects that may interest the attending public, such as the various ways of obtaining salts, the various forms of marketing and even some advertising "gimmicks" from companies that manufacture certain brands.

This activity has been carried out so far more than 30 times, coinciding with science weeks, education fairs, international disability day, geolympics or simply as an initial class to motivate students in various formal education courses. The results evidence a great acceptance by the attendees, and show an increase in their interest in Geology leading to the beginning of rounds of questions and debate after all the workshops carried out.

Keywords:

Inclusive education, science popularization, geology outreach, science in family, salts misleading marketing.