About Us
Faithfully exploring God's Earth and its systems, since 1967
Our Mission
The GEO Department is a community working together to investigate Earth and it's human habitation, cherish its intricate physical processes and rich cultural diversity, and act justly as stewards of God's creation.
Learn more about our faculty.
Professional-grade facilities
The GEO department hosts extensive samples of mineral, rock and fossils, a vast collection of maps, a dedicated geo-spatial analysis lab, drones, an on-campus research sand dune, a weather station and the Bruce Dice Mineralogical Museum.
Student/Faculty Research
Students conduct academic-year and summer research with professors. In recent years, students have studied:
- Lake Michigan coastal dunes
- Excavation, curation, and analysis of a late Pleistocene mastodon
- creating a web application for the Plaster Creek watershed
- The Flat Iron Lake Preserve 25 miles northeast of Grand Rapids
- Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens - A 104-acre preserve of temperate deciduous forest, wetlands, and nature trails
- Calvin's Biodiversity Project - a comprehensive database of the flora and fauna of Calvin University
Study Abroad
Off-campus study is an important part of the Calvin University experience. In addition to Calvin's variety of semester-long programs, the GEO department offers field courses in Death Valley, Great Lakes, Alaska, Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, and more.