Day 1- Lansing and Grand Ledge, MI

Directions to River Trail Trail
Access is best from Michigan Avenue (on foot)
2 blocks East of the Michigan State Capitol Building

Directions from downtown Lansing to Grand Ledge
Follow I-96 BL South
  Merge onto I-496 West
Merge onto US-27 N/ I-96 W/ I-69 N toward Flint/Grand Rapids
 Take the M-43 W exit- exit number 93A- toward Grand Ledge
 Merge onto MI-43.
  Turn right onto Jefferson Hwy/ M 43 BR.
 Turn left onto Fitzgerald Park Drive
Estimated travel time - 20 minutes

Schedule of Events

Why visit the River Trail?  Why visit "the ledges"?
The visit to the river trail was planned for two reasons.
 First, to observe the Grand River since we will be following it for three days.
 Second, to get this group of teachers thinking about the scale of the solar system
and how they could use a similar concept in their classroom.

The Grand River has been important to mid Michigan in many aspects throughout the years.
The river flows from south of the Lansing area to Lake Michigan via Grand Rapids
and finally Grand Haven.  It was also once one of the most polluted rivers in the state of Michigan.
The Grand River flows through a number of industrial and agricultural areas which
led to an increase in pollutants.  Major point source pollutants coming from factories
dumping waste directly into the river have been eliminated, yet non point sources such as gas,
oil and chemical runoff are still problems in some areas.  Agriculture also
leads to non point source pollution.  Clean up has been going on for
many years, but parts of the river still do not meet federal
guidelines for fishing or swimming.  One of our observations during this trip
should be to compare various characteristics of the Grand River at different points
along its path.  Observing depth and velocity could be somewhat of a liability in some areas
but levels of pollutants could be measured at each location.  Simple water quality tests for
fecal coliform bacteria could be done as could turbidity readings.

The relative scale model of the solar system that starts at "Impression 5" museum and
follows the river trail is a great learning tool and something that each and every teacher can
incorporate into their classroom.  This is a fun activity for teachers and their students.
It would be a great way to kick off this type of field trip.  Information is provided at the sun and
at each planet regarding diameter, distance (from the sun), mass, and composition.
It's a great way to review your planetary science.

"The ledges" at Grand Ledge are a prime example of mid Michigan geology.
Weather and erosion of rock material, first by glaciers and then by the Grand River
have exposed may outcrops of Pennsylvanian aged sandstone.
During the Pleistocene epoch (1.6 mya - 10,000 years ago) glaciers covered Michigan.
 The 4 major glacial periods of this time cut and carved their way through what is now mid Michigan.
These glaciers left deposits of unstratified drift as well as stratified sand and gravel that had been
transported by melt water streams.  Most of Michigan is covered by these sediments and most of
Michigan's topographic features have been shaped by glaciers.  The advancing and retreating
of these massive glaciers eroded and broke down much of the existing surface
rock material.  Long after the glaciers final retreat the Grand River carved
through the landscape exposing the sedimentary layers of the
Pennsylvanian in Grand Ledge, MI.  Other outcrops like these are scarce
because they were worn away by the glaciers, or are now covered with glacial deposits.
The sedimentary rocks that now make up the Michigan basin were first deposited
500 million years ago.  Throughout the Paleozoic Era roughly 14,000 feet of sedimentary
rocks accumulated.  The youngest of these rocks are exposed to the west of Saginaw Bay while
the rocks at the surface become older as you travel outward in every direction.  These somewhat
circular bands dip on an average of 60 ft/mi toward the center of the
basin.  These rocks have not been subject to any metamorphism
or igneous intrusions.  During the Pennsylvanian period (320 to 286 mya) water covered much of
Michigan. The sand, silt, and clay deposits that make up "the ledges" were
carried in stream channels and deposited along river banks and beaches.  Compression
and time cemented the sediments into the sandstone that we see today.
The tiny quartz crystals that make up the sand are held together
by calcite.  The calcite is easily dissolved by water so these rocks
are subject to a lot of weathering.  The Pennsylvanian was also a time of
swampy forest in Michigan that resulted in coal deposits within the sandstone.

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