The value of using models

Please click here to view the comments following last week's post about modelling the rock cycle by using a candle, a knife, some matches and a piece of paper.
Have you got any good ideas about using models? What do you think of Mike's cross-section of an egg to show the layers of the Earth? Please send us your ideas by writing them in the comments section on this post, or contact us by email.

Demonstrate the rock cycle with a candle

All you need is a candle, something to scrape the wax off the candle, a piece of paper and some matches! Erosion is demonstrated as the wax is scraped off the candle, transportation by the pieces falling down on to the paper and deposition by the build up of pieces on the paper. It's then easy to continue to demonstrate compaction, metamorphism, melting and 'crystallisation'. However, which processes are NOT demonstrated? (Weathering, cementation, rising, extrusion, uplift).
This is a brilliant way to revise the rock cycle. Have you tried it yet? Click here to download the activity.
Earthlearningidea website has over 60 free Earth-related activities for you to try.

Asked to log-in? You do not need to do so!

We are very sorry if you have tried to access earlier Earthlearningideas through this blog and have been asked to log-in to PBworks before you can gain access. Since November 2008, we have not used PBwiki to host our website and you do not need to log-in to PBworks to access anything on our site.
The problem was that activities and videos mentioned in blog posts before November 2008 were linked to the PBwiki Earthlearningidea website. We have checked all the links on the blog from the first post on 6th May 2007 and all should now go straight to our current Earthlearningidea website.
Our remit at the beginning of the project was that everyone everywhere should have access to our activities without having to pay, subscribe or log-in to anything.
We hope we have solved the problem but please let us know if you are still asked to log-in to access something. You don't need to log-in - just go straight to the website.

More landslides

Last week's new Earthlearningidea - 'Dam burst danger - modelling the collapse of a natural dam in the mountains - and the disaster which might follow' was all about the ice in an ice-cored moraine melting and causing the escape of the water in the lake and a resulting landslide. Have you also tried the Earthlearningidea 'Landslide through the window' which can also be found in the Natural Hazards category on our website?
Also, you could try Landslides at BGS (British Geological Survey), a definitive source of landslide information in Great Britain.

Dam burst danger

When glaciers in high mountain regions melt they often leave behind deep lakes. The lake waters are held back by natural dams, formed by piles of rocks, sand and clay dumped by the melting glacier. The debris is called moraine. Moraines often contain large hidden blocks of ice. These can take years to melt but when they do, the natural dam may break suddenly, releasing a flood of lake water which rushes down the mountainside sweeping all before it. This activity models the collapse of such a natural dam and shows the disaster that occurred to a 'village' below it. Click here to download the activity.
This is our latest Earthlearningidea and we should be pleased to receive your comments. Can anyone take a video of this activity in action for us to publish on the website?