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

Ice power

ELI website is back!

The new ELI, published today, is 'Ice power; freezing water in a syringe to measure the expansion'. This activity may be used in either science or geography lessons on weathering. It can also be used in discussions of molecular theory and changes of state.
All activities on the ELI website are free to download and we are always pleased to hear your views. Can anyone send us more photos for our photo gallery?

Dust bowl extension

Children add their own extension to the Earthlearningidea 'Dust bowl'.

This activity was part of a children's session looking at the ways in which the landscape is eroded and shaped. The children investigated erosion and transportation
- by rivers  'Mighty river in a small gutter'
- by the sea 'Changing coastlines'
- by ice 'Grinding and gouging'
- by the wind 'Dust bowl'
All these activities, and lots more, are free to download from the website.

ELI website down

We are very sorry; the ELI website is down at the moment.
Hopefully, it will be up and running again very soon.
Please contact us and we will forward any pdfs that you require.