Rock of Ages

After five class sessions, young scientists will be able to identify common rock types: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. This plan involves hands-on activities, includes various handouts and worksheets, and requires there to be...

In this ages of rock worksheet, students will review the processes and techniques of determine the age of rocks. Then students will use a rock layer diagram to determine what rock materials are older or younger. This worksheet has 16...

In this rock sequence worksheet, students will sequence a list of 10 historical events according to the principle of superposition. Students will label these events on a cross-section diagram.

Finally, an easy-to-make volcano model: no baking soda and vinegar required! Junior geologists construct a volcano in 3-D, then use it to answer questions about the processes and timescale of igneous rock formation. The activity includes...

There are more than 600,000 asteroids in our solar system. Pupils analyze images of two asteroids in order to determine if they are the same age. They count craters for each asteroid and compare numbers. 

Students are given a classification table and samples from their location. They locate their samples on the classification table using the characteristics used in rock identification.

We name eras of human development such as the Stone Age, Copper Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age after rocks and minerals, proving how important these are to daily life. The applied STEM unit encourages scholars to act as geologists...

Juvenile geologists drill clear plastic straws down into a playdough sedimentary rock model, pulling out sample rock cores. As they analyze their cores, they apply the law of superposition and discover that originally horizontal layers...

Students experiment with gelatin Rock Strata to possibly discover fossils and identify the effects of erosion and weathering on the sedimentary rock. They illustrate and summarize their findings.

Students interpret a rock core sample from a clay model. In small groups, they layer modeling clay in a plastic container using coarse-grained spices sprinkled in to represent fossils. They switch containers with another group and remove...