Representing more than 300 companies and tens of thousands of employees, the Virginia Transportation Construction Alliance is the leading advocate and only state association exclusively dedicated to serving the contractors, aggregate producers, engineers, suppliers and service providers who design, build and maintain Virginia’s transportation network.
An integral part of this alliance is community outreach and education. Friends of Mineralogy Virginia Chapter and VTCA have built an official partnership to help promote and expand the communities knowledge of the aggregate industry and how rocks and minerals are used in everyday life.
Current Projects:
Rock Kits: Each year, VTCA distributes rock kits to science teachers across the Commonwealth. The specimens in these kits represent materials used in transportation and construction. FMVA is working with VTCA to improve materials and resources in these kits and to offer an organization that can keep connected with teachers once they bring the kit back to their classes. Through the VTCA-FMVA partnership, this wonderful program will evolve and there will be new and exciting opportunities to connect teachers with local resources for their classrooms.
Community Display Cases: VTCA and FMVA are dedicated to getting displays in classrooms, libraries, and community centers across the commonwealth. These display cases will be curated by FMVA personnel and will provide local aggregate material along with other various rock, mineral, fossil, and geology specimens teachers can use to teach with in their classes. Display cases will be sponsored by local quarries, which will allow schools to connect to their local industry. The first case will be raffled off at the VAST PDI Conference in Fall 2021! FMVA will document each site online and it is our goal to get 1-2 cases out across the Commonwealth per year.
VAST PDI Conference: VTCA has been a big supporter of the Virginia Association of Science Teacher’s PDI conference every year. This is where the rock kits are distributed to teachers across the Commonwealth. FMVA will partner with VTCA to have a booth at this event and show teachers and local community members that our organizations have developed a strong relationship to help promote industry through the use of rock and mineral specimens!
Community-Building: FMVA is assisting VTCA by connecting staff members to new communities and organizations locally, state-wide, and nationally. Through these community-building collaborations, resources and expertise will grow and provide a strong team of individuals who can assist teachers and the public with mineral education and science outreach. One example of this is assisting VTCA in connecting students with their internship and scholarship programs that provide students experience working in the aggregate industry.
