Polk Street School second graders learned about how the Earth can change during their lesson in the STEAM Lab with Melissa Geiger on Dec. 14. The students learned about quick changes, such as volcanoes, landslides and earthquakes, as well as slow changes like erosion and weathering.
The students modeled erosion by utilizing a tray filled with water that represented a lake, a Skittle that represented a rock and a pipette that represented rain. After placing the Skittle on the edge of the tray, above the water, the students placed 10 drops of water from the pipette onto the Skittle. The students added drops of water in increments of 10 and observed their findings. They watched as the Skittle’s coloring diminished with increased droplets of water, turning the main water a different color.
Following the first experiment, the students then added a barrier of paper towel to represent trees and bushes. They completed the experiment a second time, noting that the paper towel often stopped the Skittle’s color from reaching the water.
The lesson coincides with the second graders’ science curriculum.
