Birdseed Mining Activity Source: “Birdseed Mining,” Women in Mining Education Foundation, 2005. Adapted with permission. Background Mining is a complex process in which valuable or useful materials are removed from large masses of rock. Materials Wild bird food - any birdseed mix that contains sunflower seeds and at least two other seed varieties Shallow pans Small beads (approximately 2mm) in blue, gold, and silver Medium beads (approximately 4-6 mm) in white Procedure Organize groups of four to six students. [Read More]

Build a Model Aquifer Activity Source: Source: Geoscientists Without Borders®, Society of Exploration Geophysicists Foundation. https://seg.org/gwb Adapted with permission. The United Nations includes clean water and sanitation in its sustainable development goals. Many places face severe water shortages. The Geoscientists Without Borders® (GWB) program supports teams to collaborate with communities to solve problems, including water shortages. GWB scientists use geophysical techniques to find underground layers of sediments or rock that contain enough water to be drilled for water wells. [Read More]

Build Your Own Weather Station Activity Source: “Build Your Own Weather Station,” DiscoverySchool.com, 2005. Adapted with permission. DiscoveryEducation.com Background Atmospheric scientists study weather processes, the global dynamics of climate, solar radiation and its effects, and the role of atmospheric chemistry in ozone depletion, climate change, and pollution. They observe what’s going on in our atmosphere today and compare it to records from years past. To monitor the weather, atmospheric scientists use highly specialized instruments that measure rainfall, wind speed and direction, humidity, and atmospheric pressure. [Read More]

Building the Water Cycle Diagram Activity Source: Based on the USGS Water Cycle Diagram The PDF file of the activty can be found here LESSON OVERVIEW Even before they have had any instruction about the water cycle, students have likely had real life experiences with where water is stored (generally called “pools”) and how it moves through the environment (generally called “fluxes”). This lesson uses an unlabeled version of the 2022 USGS Water Cycle Diagram to activate and assess prior knowledge about the water cycle. [Read More]

Burning Issues Activity Source: The Canadian Forestry Association Learning Outcomes Students will become familiar with fire terminology, realize how fire can be used as a management tool, and better understand the factors that need to be considered when planning a prescribed burn. Summary In this activity the students will form opinions around fire management issues. They will then work in small groups to get more information around the issues and make a more informed decision. [Read More]

Carbon Travels Activity Source: Adapted with permission by NASA. We find carbon everywhere on Earth ─ in trees, rocks, fossil fuels, oceans, and even you! Carbon doesn’t stay in one place, through. Scientists study how carbon moves from one place to another. This is the carbon cycle. The Industrial Revolution, starting in the 1700s, saw a move to large-scale manufacturing and the use of new technologies, such as steam power and electricity. [Read More]

Celebrate Wilderness Activity Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Adapted with permission. The Wilderness Act, signed into law September 3, 1964, celebrates its milestone 50th anniversary in 2014. The legislation poetically defines this natural resource: “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. [Read More]

Chemistry of Burning Activity Source: The University of Texas at Austin Bureau of Economic Geology. Provided by Association of American State Geologists. Adapted with permission. Why is CO2 increasing in the atmosphere? Who is doing it? Many people think that CO2 is “pollution,” so that clean burning should be a way to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. In this demonstration, we review basic chemistry (see illustration) to realize that producing CO2 is an inevitable product of burning any fossil fuel. [Read More]

Chocolate Rock Cycle Activity Source: The Geological Society of London. Adapted with permission. How sweet is this activity? It’s an introduction to the rock cycle using chocolate! Chocolate can be ground into small particles (weathered), heated, cooled, and compressed — just like rocks. Unlike rocks, chocolate can undergo these processes safely and at reasonable temperatures. Use your chocolate to create “sedimentary,” “metamorphic,” and “igneous” chocolate. And at the end of it all, make a tasty treat! [Read More]

Citizen Science Activity Source: Adapted with permission by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. How are people affecting your local environment? How is our planet changing? Join the “citizen science” movement, and you can help discover the answers. Citizen science is a form of open collaboration in which members of the public participate in the scientific process to address real-world problems. Volunteers can work with scientists to identify research questions, collect and analyze data, interpret results, make new discoveries, develop technologies and applications, as well as solve complex problems. [Read More]