Barstow welcomes a new science teacher who is extremely passionate about both teaching and his work as a geologist; Dr. Bryce Wagner. Dr. Wagner has led quite the adventurous and fascinating life, which is full of interesting and unique stories. He grew up on a farm, has traveled to over 40 countries, and has a love for sharing the incredible knowledge of geology.

“So I have always enjoyed education, that’s what made me want to teach in the first place. It’s also one of the reasons why I went to receive my PhD,” says Dr. Wagner.

Dr. Wagner is an incredible teacher whose knowledge of geology is vast and seemingly endless. He also cares deeply about education and all the different types of work he does. 

Dr. Wagner was born in Kansas City, Missouri, but not long after, his life was uprooted and he moved to a small-town farm in Cameron, Missouri. He grew up with his younger sister and spent his time doing a lot of difficult farm work, playing in the outdoors, and interacting with animals. 

But why was Dr. Wagner so deeply inspired to pursue geology?

He recalls, “As a child I always loved picking up ‘magic rocks’, I called them. They were a lot of fun to get to play with and to get to observe. None of them were magic; most were probably what I found on the side of the road, but I enjoyed it.”

Even though Dr. Wagner spent the majority of his time on his family’s farm, he has always had a strong interest in collecting different types of rocks. To him, it didn’t matter if they were unique or not. The enjoyment he got from studying different rocks was enough for him.

 He  first completed his undergraduate at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. He then went on to receive his master’s degree in Science and Geology there as well. Dr. Wagner went on to study for his PhD at the University of Texas.

A big part of geology for Dr. Wagner was traveling to different places to do field work. He has traveled to around 42 different countries so far. He’s studied the different processes on how rocks are formed and how different rocks relate to each other underground. 

Dr. Wagner has been passionate about education as well as geology for a long time. He has been teaching at the high school and college level for many years. In fact, this is actually his first time teaching middle schoolers.

Dr. Wagner enjoys spending his free time with his wife, two daughters, and two cats. They enjoy playing board games, video games, and going hiking together. Dr Wagner’s family also often comes on geology trips with him.

Next time you walk by Dr. Wagner’s classroom, try stopping by to ask about his life, or anything else you are wondering about. You are definitely sure to get an interesting story, or learn something interesting about the vast world of geology.