Crickets, Gecko’s, and Coqui’s – Oh my!

Sam Droege
Derek Masaki
US Geological Survey
Isla Young
MEDB/WIT

GIS in Education: K-12 and University
Wednesday March 7, 2012 - 1:30 to 4:30 pm

Creating a dynamic, fun, and relevant learning environment is the key to engaging Hawaii students in the STEM fields of GIS, biology, ecology, and computer science. Join USGS, HIGICC and MEDB’s Women In Technology (WIT) project for a fun educational workshop focused on the Hawaii Coqui Crawl project working to identify locations, model the distribution and perhaps general abundance of coqui frogs, house geckos and native crickets in Hawaii.

Students and the general public participating in the event will learn about invasive species, unique Hawaiian native species, and gain a better understanding of the unique biogeography of the Hawaiian Islands (develop a sense of place). Teachers and students will be introduced to a species count, use of technology to track the creatures, sound analysis, and create an awareness of Hawaii’s amazing native and invasive species – located right here in our own backyards!

Hawaii’s amazing Natural Resources & Invasive Species Committee, the Bishop Museum, Geospatial experts, and the Educational community will be partnering to provide an excellent opportunity for real world issues to be studied in the school classroom, and outside in our Hawaii outdoors classroom.