Section 1:  Our Dynamic Earth

Activities illustrate the composition of the Earth, and give an introduction to plate tectonics, including the historical events leading to its discovery.  Also covers  plate boundary types and convection cells in the earth.

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ACTIVITY #01-01

Learn about the composition of the Earth.  Build a model of the Earth that is one ten millionth the size of the real Earth.  See samples of rocks representative of the major Earth layers, including: sandstone, granite, gneiss, gabbro, olivine and even an iron/nickel meteorite, representative of the inner core.

  

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ACTIVITY #01-02:  Every pebble tells a story

Every pebble really does tell a story!  Make a necklace or bracelet out of your favorite gemstone such as amethyst: tiger eye, agate, and more.  Then learn about the story of your gemstone, where it is from and how it is formed.

(This activity has a cost of $4.00 per student)

     

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ACTIVITY #01-03:  Egg shells, apple peel and the Earth's crust

This activity helps the student understand just how thin the earth’s crust and lithosphere is compared with the rest of the Earth by examining the shell of an egg and the skin of an apple.

 

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ACTIVITY #01-04:  MilkyWay© bars  and spaghetti

Learn about the composition of the Earth.  Build a model of the Earth that is one ten millionth the size of the real Earth.  See samples of rocks representative of the major Earth layers, including: sandstone, granite, gneiss, gabbro, olivine and even an iron/nickel meteorite, representative of the inner core.

         

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 ACTIVITY #01-05:  Convection in the Earth

Until the mechanism behind plate tectonics – convection – was discovered, scientists did not believe in plate tectonics.  Using a bit of thyme and cooking oil in a glass bread loaf pan, we can see how the heat from a candle creates two convection cells, thus causing the thyme to whirl in circles!

 

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ACTIVITY #01-06:  The Earth is a puzzle

The Earth’s tectonic plates are like pieces of a puzzle, and the student is challenged to fit them together.  EACH student has their own magnetic board and magnetic Earth puzzle pieces (30 sets available).  This is always great fun and a wonderful way to learn the dynamic nature of our Earth!

 

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  ACTIVITY #01-07:  Magnetic Striping

Learning the history of the discovery of Plate Tectonics is fun.  It is a great demonstrator of the scientific method in action!  The discovery of magnetic striping on the ocean floor was the final proof of ocean floor spreading and clinched the deal in proving to scientists that Plate Tectonics was the real deal!

  

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ACTIVITY #01-08:  Plate Boundary Types with Foam Faults

Sometimes learning the types of plate boundaries can sound like a bunch of mumbo jumbo.  Divergent, convergent and transform.  But with these clever foam-layered fault blocks, the students can see it too.  Watch how fault blocks fall into a graben when under tensile stress.  These are awesome!

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ACTIVITY #01-09:  Plate Boundary Types with Oreo © Cookies

There’s a science about how people eat an Oreo © cookie – how do YOU eat it?  But you can also use the cookies to illustrate the plate boundary types.  Each student gets their own cookie and learns to simulate boundary types.  And the best part is that they can eat their experiment when they are done!