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Hi, Tabitha--
I'm excited to hear about some geology going on!
Most of what I have been working on lately covers tectonic forces, such as how horizontal layers are compressed forming folds and faults. We have customized an analog geologic sand box to show this. If you look that up on YouTube, you will find a lot of great examples and might find something that works for you. The box can be compared to rocks you might have with folds and faults. Students/visitors fill the box with layers, compress them, and then compare. They can try different materials, thickness of layers, how fast they do it, and try to predict what might happen.
Shake tables are fun to show how earthquakes affect buildings of different heights. The design I have used is composed of 4 lengths of rebar, of ~8, 16, 24 and 32 inches, with a small block of 2x4 at the top. The table is attached to a cordless drill, so depending on how much the student pulls the trigger, the table will shake faster or slower. What's great is when the table shakes in sync / resonates with a particular length rebar, the shaking is amplified, like a bathtub with water.
On the more demonstrative side, for volcanic plumes you might try building a "balloon" out of tissue paper and fill it with hot air to demonstrate buoyancy.
- Some universities have videos up showing how they filled an industrial garbage bin with water, then dropped a weighted soda bottle with some liquid nitrogen, and then waited for the explosion. We've added "particles" to the water and the students would "map" the deposit. This would require testing and a safety assessment though.
- One of our volcanologists has also taken soapy water, added some powder and then liquid nitrogen to show how pumice is formed.
- If you have access to a vacuum chamber, it would be great to lower the pressure and observe how a clear soda will degas as the pressure drops, or how a balloon will expand under lower pressure. Shaving cream also works.
If any of these interest you, let me know and I can give you some more details, or share some other ideas. I've posted some of the above in a blog a little while ago, too, if you'd like to check it out. http://blogs.plos.org/scied/2013/05/06/my-top-3-geology-education-models/
Cheers.
-Adam-
Adam Blankenbicker
Education Specialist - Geology
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History
Office of Education & Outreach
[log in to unmask]
Tel. (202) 633-1123
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Finch, Tabitha
Sent: Monday, December 02, 2013 10:28 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: earth science activity ideas
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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I'm looking for interactive activities for an earth sciences program aimed at middle school students. Does anyone have any ideas they can share that cover the earth's core, earthquakes and/or volcanoes?
Thanks,
Tabitha Finch, PhD
Manager of Science Education
McWane Science Center
Phone: 205-714-8436
Email: [log in to unmask]
Twitter: @tabitha_wales
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