Making Crash Course Geology

After several series diving deep into the humanities, Crash Course Geology was a chance for us to explore a new STEM subject (alongside Scientific Thinking). Some areas we’d like to draw particular attention to:

Scoping:

Geology tends to be an overlooked science in standard curricula. Outside of a unit or two in a general high school science course, students often learn about geology more in-depth only if they take AP Environmental Science or if they pursue a related degree. When thinking about our audience, we kept in mind those students who are studying aspects of geology in different courses, but also STEM-oriented individuals whose education left holes in their geological knowledge. 

Scripting:  

From Day 1 of scripting, the team worked together to find the themes that connected the geological concepts we were covering in the series. As we worked on each script, a few themes emerged:

Time: The geologic timescale is MASSIVE. And our human presence takes up a tiny sliver of it. The vastness of geologic time came up again and again and helped put our lives and planet into perspective. 

Change and Transformation: Earth—and the solar system—are constantly changing. But while some changes happen in an instant, like a major flood or earthquake, other changes happen slowly, over thousands or even millions of years. Geological forces act in both ways to create the planet we know and love.

Awe: One of the key elements of this series is experiencing the awe that geology has to offer. Especially when we had to talk about some tough subjects—like our insignificance in the grand scheme of things—we came back to awe as our North Star. Our planet is dynamic and weird and amazing, and that came through in this series.