Soil Color and Redox Chemistry Activity Source: Soil Science Society of America. Adapted with permission. Are soils like M&Ms™? Yes! Typical soil colors are red, brown, yellow, or black. These colors are often not the color of the minerals in the soil but coatings of iron oxides (Fe203, FeOOH, and so on) or organic matter on particles. The minerals beneath are often quartz or feldspar, which are grey. To see how coating affects soil color, consider red M&Ms™. [Read More]

Soil Properties Activity Source: Adapted with permission from Kristen Lucke, Views of the National Parks, National Park Service. “Soil porosity” refers to the amount of pores, or open space, between soil particles. Pore spaces may be formed due to the movement of roots, worms, and insects; expanding gases trapped within these spaces by groundwater; and/or the dissolution of the soil parent material. Soil texture can also affect soil porosity There are three main soil textures: sand, silt, and clay. [Read More]

Survey Mark Hunting Activity Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Adapted with permission. Geodesy is the science that measures and represents the size and shape of Earth. In the United States, survey reference points are developed and maintained by NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS). In this activity, you will find data on the location and description of survey marks in your area and—if you like—search for them through a variation of geocaching. [Read More]

Take the Pulse of Your Classroom Activity Source: Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and Suitable Systems Background Elastic waves that move through the Earth are called seismic waves. Want to study them more closely? SeisMac is a free application that displays the output from the Sudden Motion Sensor in recent Mac laptops as a real-time, three-axis, acceleration graph, or, more commonly, a seismogram. Once your class has received some instruction on seismic waves, the following activity can leverage SeisMac technology to help students understand how a seismometer records ground motions. [Read More]

Texas Rocks Activity Source: Houston Geologocial Society. Adapted with permission. Geologic maps can tell you a lot about the rocks beneath your feet. You can use the legend with the map to figure out what rock types are in various geographic areas. The legend can also tell you in what geologic period those rocks formed. Geologists use such maps to help identify where natural resources are and where natural hazards are likely to occur. [Read More]

Third From the Sun Activity Source: “Third From the Sun,” University of California at Berkeley, 2001. Adapted with permission. Background Since our beginnings, we humans have had a narrow view of our home - Earth. For many years, standing on the ground and looking around or climbing a mountain and squinting down were the most useful ways people had of trying to understand the planet’s surface. Only in the past few hundred years have we been able to better understand what the planet really looks like. [Read More]

Tracking Dinosaurs Activity Source: The Geological Society of America. Adapted from Hands on the Land, Garden Park, Canon City, Colorado. Adapted with permission. Paleontologists are the geoscientists who discover and study fossil evidence of past life. Sometimes they even find the footprints of dinosaurs that roamed the surface of the Earth long ago. Ever wonder how paleontologists are able to determine, based on fossil evidence, whether a particular dinosaur was walking or running when it left footprints behind? [Read More]

Traveling Nitrogen Activity Source: Windows to the Universe. Adapted with permission. Nitrogen is an element that is found both in living things and the nonliving parts of the Earth system. In this classroom activity, students play the role of nitrogen atoms traveling through the nitrogen cycle to gain understanding of the varied pathways through the cycle and how nitrogen is relevant to living things. For the teacher: To prepare, set up nitrogen reservoir stations around the classroom (or outside). [Read More]

Using Energy Resources Wisely Activity Source: American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Adapted with permission. People depend on their energy resources, so they need to know how to use them wisely. How do you think people can use the energy they rely on to heat their homes more efficiently? Materials Plastic cup, foam cup, and metal soup can, all around the same size Plastic wrap and sheets of paper Masking tape Supply of warm water 3 alcohol thermometers Measuring cup Calculator and notebook Graph paper Watch or clock Procedure Predict which item - plastic cup, metal soup can, or foam cup - will keep water warm the longest. [Read More]

Water Filtration Activity Source: Nebraska Earth Systems Education Network, School of Natural Resources, By Kimberly Flessner Objective: Each group will design a water filtration system and present to the class why they picked their design. Materials: 1 or 2 2-liter bottles scissors 1 250ml beaker filtration materials (examples: soil, gravel, potting soil, cotton balls, scrap material, charcoal, sand, woodchips, Styrofoam packing, charcoal briquettes) screening rubber bands Bunsen burner or heat source for evaporation “polluted water” (tap water with salt, food coloring, sand, and dish soap added to it) Procedure: Each group of 2 or 3 need to design an idea for a filtration system. [Read More]