The Science of The Earth!

 

Teacher:   Ellen Hillman

Ages:   10-13

Cost:  $230 .   Can be split into 3 equal payments  

This is an 11 week class

Mat Fees:   $30

11 week class

 

Ever wonder what our earth is made of?  Deep down, what will you find?  What about all that shaking, and the rocking and rolling? What about explosive volcanoes?  What is a ring of fire? Ever wonder what a dull, plain old rock and a shiny beautiful diamond have in common? What makes our gemstones shine? There are mysteries buried deep in our earth. How can we discover some of these secrets and the treasures buried inside?

This class is designed to give students an interesting and fun filled overview of basic earth facts.  We will learn about the earth's structure, plate tectonics, and geological events along with the earth's layers, mountains, midocean ridges, faults, earthquakes, volcanoes, hot springs and geysers. We will note the effects of specific geologic events by researching records of these events such as volcanoes in Pompeii, Hawaii, and St. Helens.  We'll learn about the possibility of predicting of earthquakes, earthquake zones, measuring them, and after effects including tsunamis. We will learn how we might prepare ourselves for an earthquake here in California!  We will explore the beauty and usefulness of rocks and minerals on our planet by learning how rocks and gemstones are created, classified, identified, and used.  We will have engaging hands on activities, and develop a healthy vocabulary of terms sharing our new knowledge!

A few of our activities will include:

Plate tectonics.... depicting and creating fault lines indicating pressure and movement of earth's plates using graham crackers and marshmallow (indicating causes of earthquakes and volcanoes) note: instructional and yummy!
Volcanoes....creating a volcano in class to observe the nature of eruption and lava flow
Rocks and minerals....examining and identifying samples of rocks and minerals (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic).  We'll examine a variety of gemstones and conduct a few tests to determine hardness (understanding Mohs' scale), luster, and streak.
Understanding terms, vocabulary and concepts.... we will play Geology J-I-N-G-O to show our understanding of terms such as magma, igneous, aluminum, diamond, minerals, talc, geologist, metamorphic and more!