by Connie Knapp of the Institute for Technology Development  

Published by ESRI Press

Community Mapping: Students Have a Gas Mapping Radon Levels

August 29, 2004 By Don Cressall

Greg Domgaard, a 9th grade science teacher at Farmington Junior High in Utah, and 165 of his students have completed year one of a three-year radon study, made possible by a National Geographic Society Education Foundation Grosvenor Grant. Mr. Domgaard is following the Community Mapping Program (CMP) model outlined by The Orton Family Foundation. Mr. Domgaard's CMP project involves using GPS units to collect each student's home location and matching each student's home location with the test results from their radon kit. This project gives students the opportunity to practice the scientific method on a real issue in their community.

Mr. Domgard recently presented on this program and explained radon is the nation's leading cause of lung cancer, behind only smoking. But he also added it is naturally occurring and can be found most anywhere.

"There is no place you can go in this world without finding a certain amount of uranium in the soil. It is everywhere. So is the radium, so is the radon. It is in varying concentrations, but it's there."

As he spoke, a Geiger counter sitting on a countertop in the back of the classroom, clicked away, registering traces of radioactive particles in the air. He explained that radon is an invisible, odorless gas that comes from deposits of uranium in rock, soil and water and can be harmful when it becomes concentrated in homes and other buildings. That's the reason why homes should be tested for radon.

The second guest speaker was Steve Hermansen, Davis School District's Safety Coordinator. Mr. Hermansen talked about what his responsibilities are and how they work to keep students and patrons safe. Jan Gibbons from Davis School District's Planning Department provided detailed data layers for students to work with. Cindy Clark, the State of Utah Automated Geographic Reference Center's (AGRC) database administrator, provided additional layers of data to be displayed and queried in ArcView® GIS. Davis School District's Educational Technology Support Department provided additional radon test kits, the use of Garmin GPS units, training and technical support.

Mr. Domgaard has three goals for this project: first, do radon levels vary from year to year; second, do "pockets" of radon migrate; and finally, does radon follow the natural terrain or can it follow man made barriers such as roads or railroads. He wanted to give his students a hands-on project that would be meaningful and provide a resource to the community and to the state.

After the test results were combined with the location data, students were taught how to use ArcView® GIS software. They used ArcView® to display roads, railroads, fault lines, water bodies, radon data, parcels, and aerial photos. They measured the location of their home to the nearest fault lines on the east and man made barriers like Interstate 15 on the west. Students queried out the different levels of radon and looked for pockets of radon and checked to see if the elevated levels of radon have any relationship with either the man made barriers or the fault lines.

"The benefit I see is that the kids do some real hands-on science," Domgaard says. "They are going to get some software training ., which is huge, and then for the scientific agencies that would use this data . this is going to be a huge data cell for them down the road for them to look back on." "Now for kids . here's a real world science (project)," he said. "It isn't out of a book, turn the pages, answer the questions, and read them. This is actually gathering data, actually coming back, putting the data in and making their best guess."

These students will remember this project for the rest of their lives. They will always be aware of this silent, odorless, health threat. Anytime students can gather their own information, display it spatially, and be able to query their data to look for causes is a real plus in teaching science, math, language arts, and social studies. Students learn best when the curriculum has an emotional appeal, is relevant or current, it stimulates the learner, helps establish relationships in the brain, supports spatial and kinesthetic learners. I would recommend every teacher participate in a Community Mapping project!

Don Cressall oversees Educational Technology Support for Davis School District. He participated in the 2003 Community Mapping Institute in Laramie, Wyoming, made possible by a National Geographic Society Education Foundation grant. He has worked with the GIS community since 1992.