“The Grand Canyon is a big hole, and it is amazing, it is the best Grand Canyon I have ever seen in my whole life,” one awestruck Prescott fourth grader told the teacher after seeing this marvel of the natural world.
Rox Media was a proud sponsor of a spring field trip for more than 100 pupils and 30 chaperones from Prescott’s Abia Judd Elementary School to the Grand Canyon to learn about how this natural phenomenon was formed.
“Students were able to wonder at the massive hole in the earth that they could finally see with their bare eyes. We had been learning about the canyon prior to the field trip, and it was a very magical experience seeing it as a class after so much preparation,” teacher Whitney Williams says.
The May 11 trek was enjoyed by all students and adults on the trip, many of whom got to see the Arizona landmark for the first time. It was also a chance to connect science curriculum about rocks and geology to a real-world example.
All the kids walked the Trail of Time and completed a scavenger hunt. They visited the Yavapai Museum of Geology. They also learned from a ranger about when the Grand Canyon’s layers were formed, the conditions that created them and how to identify the rocks in each layer.
Williams says Abia Judd has been taking its fourth graders on this trip for as long as anyone can remember, and it’s always been a special time of the school year.
“All of a sudden the canyon comes into view, and there is a plunging hole in the earth. Kids can see the birds flying above, the deep reds, oranges and browns of the beautiful rock,” she says.
“All the students are oohing and aahing as they take in one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Looking at their faces in the moment is one of the most rewarding times of the year. There is nothing like the canyon.”
