Two weekends geology sessions

general courses

General knowledge on physical geography.

The classes take the form of practical sessions held on a two weekends Saturday and Sunday (4 days in total) in October. Three sessions are of 8h duration each and one session is 6h. The venue for indoor classes is the Faculty of Geology. Laboratory classes take place in lecture rooms. During these sessions participants are also going out for a short walk around the Ochota Campus. Remaining sessions, dedicated to applications for natural stone in the city and park landscape and architecture, are held entirely off-campus in various locations in the city. Minerals and rocks identification constitutes the main subject of laboratory classes. Field sessions refer to the skills and knowledge acquired by the participants during the laboratory classes.

The course is held in the form of sessions (four days) consisting of 3x8-hour and 1x6-hour blocks of classes in October. Practical sessions include blocks of classes that take place in lecture rooms, and the Ochota Campus area. The blocks of full-day practical field classes are trips to stone architecture monuments and other interesting examples of stonework in Warsaw.

Practical classes are preceded by an introductory presentation and consist of the following topics and activities:

Minerals and rocks. Features of common minerals. Basic types of rocks, their occurrence and genesis - work with specimens (minerals, fossils, rocks) in a laboratory. Rock types and their regional varieties - work with lithological specimens in the laboratory. Overview and identification of rocks, focused on sedimentary rocks. Review of the index fossils through geologic time. Identification of facing and floor stones used in the Faculty of Geology. Rock as a raw material, types of rocks used in construction, methods of rock processing, rocks as additives to various products. Review of utility rocks, facing and floor stones; common and trade names. The origin of facing stones used in Poland.

Field classes that start at the Faculty of Geology consist of the following topics and activities: Type of rocks in the Faculty of Geology and around the building. A walk outside to see glacial erratics on Pole Mokotowskie. A walk around the Ochota Campus and its vicinity. Observations on the types of stones in architecture.

Field classes (walking tours in Warsaw). Walking tour 1 consist of the following topics and activities: rocks in funerary architecture - a visit to Powązki Cemetery and rocks in architecture inside of modern building, e.g. CH Arkadia. Walking tour 2: Application of stones in architecture - selected places in Ochota District in Warsaw, identification of stone material.

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Any transportation costs (getting to and from the trips) are covered by the participants.

1. Knowledge. Class participants:

- knows common minerals and rocks,

- knows the genesis and composition of common rocks,

- understands the relation between the types of rocks and specific architectural needs,

- understands the influence of atmospheric and climatic conditions on weathering of certain types of rocks

- knows the basic methods of rock treatment depending on the demand for a specific material,

- is aware of the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the destruction of rock materials in the environment of a city,

- knows the regional origin of the most common architectural stones.

2. Skills. Class participants can:

- identify common minerals and rocks based on their properties and textures,

- create a record of field observations (notes, drawings, photos),

- determine the usability of certain types of rocks for indoor and outdoor applications,

- create a written report on topics related to field classes

3. Social competences:

- ability to work in a team, assigning tasks during field and lab works,

- rising conservation awareness of participants towards inanimate nature monuments

- class attendance criteria: one absence is allowed, but an additional written assignment must be made instead (on a geology-related subject given by the instructor)

- activity during practical and field classes,

- preparation of an individual report on the examples of architectural stones usage (places not visited during the classes)

The report should be relevant to the topic given, should contain final conclusions and opinions, and attachments (e.g. photographs).

Not applicable