From viewing ancient artifacts in Colorado to hiking part of the Appalachian Trail, students are finding ways to go beyond a textbook education.

While some students will be cramming for finals during the last few weeks of April, students in Geoscience 204 (Geobiology) will be digging their minds into the wonders of prehistory in the Rocky Mountains.

"The trip to Denver will be a capstone experience for our course," said Mark Patzkowsky, assistant professor of geosciences and co-professor of the class. The only cost students incur for the trip is a $100 fee for food and other personal expenses. The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, alumni donations and oil company donations fund the rest, Patzkowsky said. The course covers material ranging from fossils to understanding how Earth's ever-changing environment has affected life. It culminates in a weeklong field trip when the class of 20 students will view many geological treasures, including fossils of dinosaur tracks.

"It's a really wonderful experience for students because they will be able to actually see the fossils that we've been reading about all year," Patzkowsky said. This is the second time the class is being offered but the first time the field trip will be included, he said. Other colleges are also adding hands-on learning experiences to course curriculums.

"Class lessons penetrate much more quickly and much more deeply," said Brian Orland, head of the landscape architecture department. Practical experience is important with all majors in the college, but especially in landscape architecture because of the nature of the field, he said.

One landscape architecture trip sends students outside of Harrisburg to work in partnership with community residents. In the course Community Assessment, Planning and Design (LARCH 497H and 453) students work with local residents to develop vacant lots in Allison Hill.

The department also tries to minimize the costs of field studies so more students will participate, he added.

"We try to make the student fee less than the cost of a textbook," Orland said. The rest of the tab is picked up by the College of Arts and Architecture and from alumni donations to the college, he said.

English 487W (Senior Seminar), also offers students the chance to leave the classroom. At the end of the semester, the literature class takes a 20-mile hiking trip starting in West Virginia on the Appalachian Trail, said Robert Burkholder, a professor of English who teaches the course. Students read literary works focusing on Southern landscapes and take the trip in mid-April, he said.

"[The trip] adds another dimension to the learning process," said Burkholder, who is offering the class this semester for the second time. The only fee that might be incurred by students is the cost of hiking equipment. Burkholder said he usually pays for food, and the college pays additional costs.