# Help me find as geology-related hands-on activity for kids **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 19, 2016, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422 "2016-11-19T14:51:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/1 "2016-11-19T14:51:54Z")
I am assisting in a STEM University for local youth - 4th & 5th graders. One segment will be on geology. The kids will be cycling through in groups of about 12. We will be doing some rock identification and will be borrowing some lab kits from a local college to do a Mohs hardness scale activity. We are looking for a few more hands-on activities that the students can do in about 15 minutes or less. Crystal growing is an obvious choice, but it takes hours or days. The activity can be anything from plate tectonics, caves, volcanoes, geysers, fossil formation or whatever is related to some aspect of geology. We prefer something the kids can do themselves rather than having an adult stand up front doing a demo, but even that would help. What are your ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/2 "2016-11-19T15:09:23Z")
If you do a search under home schooling science kits you should be able to find something suitable [http://www.hometrainingtools.com/science-kits/stem-kits](http://www.hometrainingtools.com/science-kits/stem-kits) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/3 "2016-11-19T15:22:20Z")
Do something paleontological. Kids are fascinated with fossils, etc… I remember in college, one of the most strange and fascinating things was to try and identify or at least determine some characteristics of various animals by their coprolites. (fossilized turds). Maybe something similar might be cool. Or maybe something like a “guess where the rock formed” kind of thing, with rocks from a very fine grained siltstone (slow moving/still water), to some kind of conglomerate (faster moving water). And so on… ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/4 "2016-11-19T15:34:51Z")
[http://imssearth.org/Resources/Rivers\_4%20Lesson.pdf](http://imssearth.org/Resources/Rivers_4%20Lesson.pdf) - rivers. Its from this site: [http://teachearthscience.org/](http://teachearthscience.org/) And a Pangaea puzzle would be good. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/5 "2016-11-19T15:39:08Z")
A great exercise would be to collect rocks and identify them using a variety of tests. Hardness, reaction to acid, color, density, etc. May not be as exciting as studying volcanoes but it teaches them the scientific method. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/6 "2016-11-19T16:21:50Z")
When I was twelve, they gave each of us a slab of Indiana limestone guaranteed to contain at least one fish fossil. Then they gave us dissecting probes and told us we had two weeks to uncover our fossils. Pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/7 "2016-11-19T17:06:06Z")
Don’t know what kind of budget you have for this, but years back I bought some small baggies of gravel from the [Lee Creek](https://www.google.com/#q=lee+creek+fossils) phosphate mine. They contained dozens of tiny shark, ray, and drum fish teeth (among other less identifiable fossils.) I originally bought mine directly from a personal web site, but there is [something similar](https://www.amazon.com/MICRO-FOSSIL-Bonus-NANTAN-METEORITES/dp/B00EWOJJK2) on Amazon, and if you dig around (so to speak) you could probably find more sources. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/8 "2016-11-19T17:14:12Z")
And [here’s some](https://www.aurorafossilmuseumstore.com/collections/fossils/products/aurora-fossil-museum-bucket-2) direct from the Lee Creek/Aurora museum. (They don’t list the volume/weight of the bucket for some reason, maybe you could contact them and get an answer.) ---
**Author:** ![Tara57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Tara57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tara57)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/9 "2016-11-19T19:08:18Z")
Put a small ball of clay in a disposable bowl. Write the student’s name on the bowl. Have the students use a shell or something similar to make an impression in the clay, then fill the impression with plaster of Paris to make cast and mold fossils. Let the fossil sit to dry a bit while the student does some other activities. The plaster will pop pop out after it fully dries at home. This will be a nice little keepsake, too. ---
**Author:** ![Tara57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Tara57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tara57)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/10 "2016-11-19T19:15:33Z")
Have students stack two or three unwrapped Laffy Taffy candies on top of one another and press down hard - sedimentary rock. Then they can squeeze the sedimentary rocks in their hands until the heat and pressure turn them into metamorphic rocks. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/11 "2016-11-19T21:32:50Z")
It only takes a few minutes for students to use a rock polisher. They add rocks, water, and course grit. Let it run. Next day, rinse out. Add water and medium grit. Let it run, Next day repeat with fine grit. Total time might be an hour. Very little if any supervision needed. The polisher can be set on a cabinet and ignored while it runs. I polished several sets of rocks when I was 12. I would buy a heavy duty model to use in a classroom. The kit comes with grit and rocks that can be polished. But I’d let the students find pretty stones to polish. Make finding the stone and identifying it part of the lesson. > **[Amazon.com: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Professional Rock Tumbler Kit- Advanced features...](https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Professional-Advanced-Features/dp/B013PWFKN6)** > > Buy NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Professional Rock Tumbler Kit- Advanced features include Shutoff Timer and Speed Control - 2lb Barrel, 1lb Gemstones, 4 Polishing Grits, Jewelry Fastenings and Learning Guide: Executive Desk Toys - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY... ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/12 "2016-11-19T22:16:47Z")
I remember playing with rock tumblers. Took a lot longer than 1 day per level of grit. ([Maybe you had a vibratory one–I had a rotary](http://rocktumbler.com/tips/how-long-does-rock-tumbling-take/).) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-as-geology-related-hands-on-activity-for-kids/772422/13 "2016-11-19T22:54:22Z")
I would have followed the directions in the manual. I had a Sears Rock Tumbler kit. It may have been several days per grit. I don’t recall for sure. It’s still doesn’t require much actual student time. Less than 15 mins to rinse the rocks and add new grit. I had my tumbler in the garage on a workbench. Didn’t pay it any attention until it was time to change the grit.