Geosites that are out of this world: an example of planned development of Morasko (Poland) impact crater educational activities

Impact craters are rare and important geosites: 

Asteroids are constantly colliding with our planet. Some of them have enough energy to form impact structures that can vary in size from tens of meters (e.g., Kaali in Estonia: [1]) to hundreds of kilometers (Vredefort in RSA: [2]). Due to their rarity (~200 terrestrial impact sites are known: [3]) and a certain level of mystery and attractivity provided by their extraterrestrial genesis, impact craters are prime locations for teaching about Earth and planetary sciences. 

Museums and/or geoparks were built near many impact sites e.g.: Chicxulub museum [4], Kaali Meteoritics and Limestone Museum, Meteor Crater Barringer Space Museum, Odessa Meteor Crater Museum, Ries Crater Museum Nördlingen [5], Meteorite Museum, Rochechouart. Most impact sites, even if they are formally protected, are not associated with a museum. 

Morasko craters: 

Morasko impact site [6] consists of a group of seven craters located in central Poland. All of them formed at the same time ~5 ka, due to fragmentation of an IAB asteroid during passage through the atmosphere. The largest structure is 100 m in diameter. Multiple fragments of the impactor were found. It is one of only six known strewn fields on Earth, and the only one that is located within a large city limits (Poznan) and and next to an international airport. 

Morasko is currently utilized for educational and tourist purposes to a limited degree. The site is formally protected (Morasko Meteorite Nature Reserve), and there is a slightly deteriorated, but well designed educational path. Some pieces of Morasko meteorite (along with a collection of other meteorites) are curated in the nearby geological museum of Adam Mickiewicz University, however, access to this display is possible only for a couple of hours a week (upon previous appointment).

The goal: 

As a newly formed committee, within the next 10 years, we plan to establish a museum of natural sciences at the Morasko site. We want to make use of this amazing site to teach people about the: planetary geology, astronomy and natural hazards. 

During the conference we would like to present the case for Morasko, and receive advice and support in order to make this plan a reality. 

[1] Losiak et al. 2016. Dating Kaali Crater (Estonia) based on Charcoal emplaced within proximal ejecta blanket. MAPS 51:681–695.

[2] Huber et al. 2023. Can Archean Impact Structures Be Discovered? A Case Study From Earth's Largest, Most Deeply Eroded Impact Structure. JGR:Planets. 128 (8).

[3] Osinski et al. 2022. Impact Earth: A review of the terrestrial impact record, Earth-Science Rev. 232:104–112 

[4] Urrutia-Fucugauchi et al. 2020. Chicxulub museum, geosciences in Mexico, outreach and science communication – built from the crater up. Geosci. Commun. 4:267–280, 

[5] PöSges 2005. The Ries Crater Museum in Nördlingen, Bavaria, Germany. MAPS 40:1555-1557.

[6] Szokaluk et al. 2019. Geology of the Morasko craters, Poznań, Poland —Small impact craters in unconsolidated sediments. MAPS54:1478–1494.