Model the stages of the rock cycle - with your pupils!

The latest ELI is the rock cycle game - 'Rockery 2'
In this activity your pupils model the various stages of the rock cycle. Perhaps they can write a poem, song or rap to accompany the 'dance'? Please send these to us together with any video clips; we will publish the best on the website.
This idea was developed from 'Rockery 1 - the rock game' by pupils from Box Primary School in Wiltshire.
There are lots of related rock cycle activities listed on the home page of our website.

Volcanic eruptions are unpredictable

One of our very popular Earthlearningideas is "Take a 'Chance' on the volcano erupting" This activity uses measuring the force required to burst a party popper as an analogy for the prediction of volcanic eruptions. A series of possible events in the build up of a volcanic eruption is given on ‘Chance’ cards. These are selected at random and the instructions given on the card are followed until the party popper ‘erupts’. Through this activity, students will discover many of the factors which are associated with the build up to a volcanic eruption. These include seismic activity, changes in gas emissions, swelling of the volcano’s surface, and minor eruptions of tephra (solid particles of congealed lava, in the form of ash or larger fragments).
The graph below shows some of the results:-

This is one of many activities about volcanoes - all free to download from our website

Working out the direction of flow of ancient rivers - imbrication

The new ELI today continues our series on sedimentary structures 'Imbrication - which way did the river flow?' This activity can be used in any lesson dealing with the origin of sediments and the interpretation of past environments.
There are many related Earthlearningideas listed on the home page of the website.

Make your own rock - and then test it!

How many masses do you think a 20 minutes-old rock pellet will hold? This young scientist managed to add another kilo, making 4 kilos. Sadly, we had no more masses so we don't know the answer!

Try this yourselves - 'Make your own rock; investigating how loose sediment may be stuck together to make a "rock"'

There are many more exciting Earth science activities on our website - all free to download.





Young WANHS taking part in a children's fun session at Devizes Museum