Name: Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators – Richland, WA
Start: 2026-06-22T09:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-06-22T16:00:00-07:00
Location: The Reach Museum

February 2026
Cabin Fever Lecture! Glacial Ice History in Mission Valley and Vicinity

February 20 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm PST

Montana Natural History Center 120 Hickory Street, Missoula, MT

Skye Cooley It’s that time of the year! Time to contemplate ice-ages and glacial lakes. Time for the Glacial Lake Missoula Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute’s Cabin Fever Lecture! Warm up your curiosity about glacial ice history in the Mission Valley with geologist Skye Cooley. About the Instructor: Skye Cooley is a Montana-based field geologist and geomorphologist specializing in quaternary geology, paleosols (ancient soils), and GIS mapping, currently focused on the Mission Valley. Based in Ronan, MT, he has a diverse background including contract mapping for the Idaho Geological Survey, teaching at Boise State, and serving as a soil scientist. Date: Friday, February 20 Time: 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Location: Montana Natural History Center Cost: Free, but please register. Donations accepted to cover the time of the MNHC personnel and meeting room. REGISTER HERE!

Free - Donations appreciated to cover the time of the MNHC personnel and meeting room.
March 2026
The Missoula Floods and the SVRP Aquifer

March 3 @ 6:45 pm - 8:00 pm PST

Zoom Meeting

The Lake Lewis chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute will host a free Zoom lecture on March 3rd exploring the dramatic creation of the Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie (SVRP) Aquifer!
Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators – The Dalles, OR

March 14 @ 9:00 am - 4:00 pm PDT

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center 5000 Discovery Dr., The Dalles, OR, United States

Every student in the Northwest should experience the incredible science story of the megafloods that shaped our landscape and history. To help bring this story to life, the Ice Age Floods Institute, Engaging Every Student, and our partners are excited to invite K–12 educators to free special training events. Thanks to support from the Avista Foundation, we are offering free hybrid workshops where you will gain access to valuable resources designed to inspire students to investigate their local environment. New Curriculum Resources Participants will explore a new Ice Age Floods Detectives phenomena-based curriculum with supporting presentations targeted to 4th grade, as well as hands-on investigations from the National Park Service's Investigating Ice Age Floods curriculum. Both explore the megafloods that shaped the Northwest and are adaptable for grades K–12 Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators Details (In-person with options to join us via Zoom): Location: The Dalles, OR: Sat., Mar. 14, 2026 (register here: tinyurl.com/yxw9haet) Featuring: Engaging classroom and field-based activities, including exciting ways to model Floods phenomena Stories of the megafloods that transformed the Northwest 18,000–12,000 years ago at the end of the Last Glacial Period Up to 7 Washington STEM Clock Hours and/or PDUs for license renewal in Oregon and other states Schedule: All workshops 9:00 am–4:00 pm (or half day) 9:00–12:00 | Interactive workshop featuring new Ice Age Floods Discovery curriculum: targeted to grade 4 and adaptable for K–12 12–12:30 | Working lunch (provided) 12:30–3:30 | Interactive workshop featuring Investigating Ice Age Floods curriculum adaptable for grades K–12 3:00 or 3:30–4:00 | Nearby interpretive field studies with experts Cost: Free Ice Age Floods Institute mini-Grants available To cover materials, transportation, STEM clock hour fee, etc. Learn more: iafi.org/k-12grants. Help Spread the Word: We encourage you to share this informative Ice Age Floods Workshops flyer with other educators to let them know about this opportunity! For questions, comments, or ideas on where we might offer additional training, please contact Rick Reynolds, M.S.Ed., at rick@engagingeverystudent.com. Thanks for your interest and all you do to inspire our students to investigate our environment!
Combined Chapter Hike – Escure Ranch / Towell Falls

March 14 @ 10:00 am - 3:00 pm PDT

Escure Ranch Washington

The Palouse Falls and Cheney-Spokane Chapters of the IAFI invite you to a hike at Escure Ranch on the BLM Rock Creek Recreation Site on Saturday, March 14. The hike will start at 10:00 a.m. It will be led by Don Chadbourne, geologist and board member of the Cheney-Spokane Chapter, and Lloyd Stoess, president of the Palouse Falls Chapter. You will meet the leaders at the trailhead. Description of the Escure Ranch Hike The hike will begin and end at the Escure Ranch parking area, of the Bureau of Land Management, Rock Creek Recreation site. The hike will follow an old ranch road to Towell Falls and return on the same route. The out and back hike will be about 6.5 miles. The trail is mostly double track over dirt and rock, with an elevation gain and loss of about 160 feet. The hike is a pleasant trek through a remote scabland canyon. Features will include rock benches and basins, flood bars, Mima mounds, mesas and waterfalls. This hike is included in the book, On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods – Northern Reaches, by Bjornstad & Kiver. Directions to the trailhead will be provided to hikers after registration. Click on the Register button to sign up for the hike. The hike will be limited to 30 hikers. Items to bring with you: appropriate shoes, day pack, water, snacks, appropriate clothing for changes in the weather, sun protection, emergency items, camera and binoculars. Walking poles will be helpful. The hike is free; however, donations for support of Chapter activities will be accepted. For additional questions, contact Don at 509-891-5875, or Lloyd at 509-954-3927. Map available for download: 11 x 17 LIDAR map of Escure Ranch Area showing our hiking route to Towell Falls (downloadable PDF)
Sandhill Crane Festival

March 20 @ 6:30 am - March 22 @ 9:00 pm PDT

Othello, WA WA, United States

At the Sandhill Crane Festival, March 20-22, 2026 in the beautiful Columbia Basin, Othello, WA, you’ll have the chance to explore the Ice Age Floods story through presentations and field trips, and see thousands of Sandhill Cranes, ducks, and geese as they gather against the stunning backdrop of the Saddle Mountains and sprawling cornfields. There is a fantastic lineup of geology and wildlife viewing opportunities, along with engaging talks, fun tours, hikes, and workshops for everyone to enjoy. Registration is now open with a registration deadline of March 15 at noon (No refunds after this date). All Events are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are filled in the order received. Please note, Lectures, tours and hike participants must purchase a General Admission Ticket for $10.00.

$10 – $165
Mega Floods, Ice Ages, Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes, and other things that could keep you awake at night but probably shouldn’t

March 21 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am PDT

McFarland Middle School 790 S. 10th Avenue, Othello, Washington, United States

This presentation will begin by defining what an Ice Age is and then looking at our dynamic planet and those major events that can lead to dramatic temperature changes. Also included will be a look at hazards here in the Pacific Northwest and why they occur.
Moses Coulee Field Trip

March 22 @ 8:15 am - 4:00 pm PDT

McFarland Middle School 790 S. 10th Avenue, Othello, Washington, United States

This field trip will head north from Othello along the eastern edge of the Quincy Basin with stops on the Ephrata Fan and Soap Lake at the mouth of Grand Coulee. Moses Coulee parallels Grand Coulee to the west and has puzzled scientists to this day. Several plausible explanations to its origins have been proposed. This off-the-beat coulee is always a surprise to first time visitors. On the way back to Othello, there will be stops at Potholes Coulee and Drumheller Channels which were two of the four outlets for the Missoula Floods exiting the Quincy Basin. Go to www.othellosandhillcranefestival.com to sign up for this trip.

$70
Geology of the Tri-Cities Field Trip

March 28 @ 9:00 am - 4:00 pm PDT

Richland Community Center 500 Amon Park Dr, Richland, WA, United States

The Lake Lewis Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute is sponsoring an informal (carpool) field trip focus on the geology in and around Richland, Washington
April 2026
Cheney-Spokane Chapter Hike – Palisades Park 2026

April 4 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm PDT

Palisades Park 2-198 S Rimrock Dr, Spokane, WA, United States

The 3-mile hike will be led by IAFICS board member geologist Michael Hamilton. It will take place along Rimrock Drive, which has spectacular views of Spokane and the Spokane Valley. The Glacial Outburst Flood Story will include a lot of "arm-waving," pointing out flood features both along the trail and with views to the east. The geology discussion will include details of another kind of flood that hit the Spokane area 14 million years ago. The hike will then cut to the west along one of the park's trails to find mysterious Mima mounds, and then loop back to the parking area.
June 2026
Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators – Richland, WA

June 22 @ 9:00 am - 4:00 pm PDT

The Reach Museum 1943 Columbia Park Trl , WA, Richland, WA, United States

Every student in the Northwest should experience the incredible science story of the megafloods that shaped our landscape and history. To help bring this story to life, the Ice Age Floods Institute, Engaging Every Student, and our partners are excited to invite K–12 educators to free special training events. Thanks to support from the Avista Foundation, we are offering free hybrid workshops where you will gain access to valuable resources designed to inspire students to investigate their local environment. New Curriculum Resources Participants will explore a new Ice Age Floods Detectives phenomena-based curriculum with supporting presentations targeted to 4th grade, as well as hands-on investigations from the National Park Service's Investigating Ice Age Floods curriculum. Both explore the megafloods that shaped the Northwest and are adaptable for grades K–12 Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators Details (In-person with options to join us via Zoom): Location: Richland, WA: Mon., June 22, 2026 (register here: tinyurl.com/zbrhtpht) Featuring: Engaging classroom and field-based activities, including exciting ways to model Floods phenomena Stories of the megafloods that transformed the Northwest 18,000–12,000 years ago at the end of the Last Glacial Period Up to 7 Washington STEM Clock Hours and/or PDUs for license renewal in Oregon and other states Schedule: All workshops 9:00 am–4:00 pm (or half day) 9:00–12:00 | Interactive workshop featuring new Ice Age Floods Discovery curriculum: targeted to grade 4 and adaptable for K–12 12–12:30 | Working lunch (provided) 12:30–3:30 | Interactive workshop featuring Investigating Ice Age Floods curriculum adaptable for grades K–12 3:00 or 3:30–4:00 | Nearby interpretive field studies with experts Cost: Free Ice Age Floods Institute mini-Grants available To cover materials, transportation, STEM clock hour fee, etc. Learn more: iafi.org/k-12grants. Help Spread the Word: We encourage you to share this informative Ice Age Floods Workshops flyer with other educators to let them know about this opportunity! For questions, comments, or ideas on where we might offer additional training, please contact Rick Reynolds, M.S.Ed., at rick@engagingeverystudent.com. Thanks for your interest and all you do to inspire our students to investigate our environment!

February 2026

Cabin Fever Lecture! Glacial Ice History in Mission Valley and Vicinity

March 2026

The Missoula Floods and the SVRP Aquifer

Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators – The Dalles, OR

Combined Chapter Hike – Escure Ranch / Towell Falls

Sandhill Crane Festival

Mega Floods, Ice Ages, Volcanic Eruptions, Earthquakes, and other things that could keep you awake at night but probably shouldn’t

Moses Coulee Field Trip

Geology of the Tri-Cities Field Trip

April 2026

Cheney-Spokane Chapter Hike – Palisades Park 2026

June 2026

Free STEAM Workshops for K–12 Educators – Richland, WA

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