The Making of Meteorite Crater

This is a fun activity we did recently with the preschoolers. Prepare for a mess and lay down some cheap plastic tarp ahead of time-- it will save you a lot of trouble with clean up after!

Materials (for 1-2 children, expand as needed)

Large aluminum tray or other similar tray with at least 4 - 5 inch depth

1 lb of flour

1 lb of corn starch

2 cups of cinnamon sugar 

Ruler, card stock, or large spatula (for flattening surface of flour and corn starch)

Balls and rocks of different sizes (e.g. ping pong ball, tennis ball, bouncy ball, large and small rocks with irregular edges)

Preparation

Mix flour and corn starch in advance of activity, then spread evenly in aluminum tray. Use a ruler, pancake spatula, or piece of card stock to flatten the surface of the mixture in the tray.

Spread a thin layer of cinnamon sugar over the flour/starch surface. (Hint: don't use all of it so that you can repeat the experiment a few times.)

Introduction

For preschoolers, keep this part simple. Ask your kids about what they think killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Let them make a few creative guesses. You can then tell the story of a large asteroid out in space, entering Earth’s atmosphere (becoming a meteor), crash landing on Earth (now a meteorite), and kicking up a lot of material into Earth's atmosphere.

This large meteorite landed off the coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

How big was it? It was about 6 miles wide and left behind a 12-mile wide crater! (It helps to put this in perspective with where you live. For example, the distance from here to the library, zoo, etc.).

The dust from the crater spread all over the world, and that same dust layer is even visible in the Grand Canyon!

There is another large and well-known meteorite crater right here in Arizona

How big was it? This one was only about 160 feet wide. Put it in perspective with regard to where you are (measure it out with them by pacing or using a measuring tape). This meteor hit the Earth only 50,000 yrs ago.

Just a few years ago, an even smaller meteorite landed in Russia, this time approximately 65 feet wide. It exploded into smaller pieces before it hit the Earth, but was captured on video by several observers. Here's another really neat movie on Youtube:

Some meteorites are much smaller than these that we've talked about— the size of your fist and smaller. They land on Earth all the time!

All of them leave behind clues that they were there, even if you can’t find the meteorite itself. 

Where did the all these big meteorites go when they hit the Earth? Let's do the activity and see if you can figure it out!

Activity

Use different sizes and weights of “meteorites” and drop them (not throwing them) in the flour/corn starch mixture to see what kind of craters they leave behind.

Do any of them create perfectly round craters?

Which ones make the biggest craters?

Which ones throw up the greatest amount of material over the layer of cinnamon sugar?

Where does all the material go that is displaced from the crater?

Which of these of these items more realistically replicates what an actual meteor crater would look like?

Bridge Building for a Rainy Day

This is the recent activity I hosted with some preschoolers and school-age children at Catalina Day School. After several recent rainy afternoons during our own summer vacation in Ohio, I had some time to  write down the specifics so I can share it with you. This activity, in itself, is a great rainy-day activity.

Materials:

Red cardboard bricks (the preschool variety; alternatively you can use a pile of books on either side of the bridge)
Dixie cups (1 per child)
Pennies (50 per child)
Construction paper (5 half-sheet strips per child, cut along the length of the paper)
Photos of different types of bridges (arch, suspension, beam, truss, etc.)
5- or 7-inch Lincoln Log block (1 per child, used to keep bricks at standard distance apart)

Introduction:

I like to pose some questions at the beginning:

Have you ever seen a bridge?
What are bridges used for?
Do we have any bridges in Tucson (or wherever you live)?

Bookmark or print some pictures from the Internet of different types of bridges (Arch, Suspension, Beam, Truss, etc.). Feel free to go into as much detail as you feel is appropriate on bridge types, depending on the ages of students doing the activity. A good introductory website for understanding bridge design is:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/bridge/basics.html

Activity:

A. Fold the construction paper (for preschool-age and Kindergarten students, fold these sheets ahead of time).

1. Leave 2 half-sheets unfolded.
2. Fold 1 sheet accordian style, along length of paper.
3. Fold the last 2 sheets so that the edge (along the length of each side) is folded up approximately 1 inch on each side (they will look a little like hot-wheel tracks).

B. Arrange the sides of the bridge and the “river."

1. Place the Lincoln Log between the two cardboard bricks so that it is perpendicular to the bricks. 
2. The 5- to 7-inch space between bricks now represents where the “river” runs under the bridge.

C. Start testing the bridge designs.

1. Have students lay one flat half-sheet of paper to span the space between the bricks.
2. One by one, place pennies in the middle of the bridge. The pennies can represent people or cars. How many people can the bridge support before it collapses?
3. Remove the pennies and try placing another flat piece directly on top of the first one, so there is a double layer of construction paper spanning the bridge.
4. How many pennies can the bridge hold this time?
5. Remove the 2 flat pieces and place 1 of the "hot-wheel-track” pieces (with the folded sides oriented upward) across the river. Place pennies on the bridge, one by one, in the center of the bridge. How many can it hold now?
6. Remove the pennies and place the other “hot-wheel-track” piece (folded sides oriented downward) on top of the other piece. This will leave a pocket of “blank space” between the two, along the length of the sandwiched pieces.
7. How many pennies can it hold now?
8. Remove pennies and bridge. Place the accordion-style bridge across the gap. Add pennies to the center until it collapses.
9. Which bridge type was most successful?
10. Now try using a combination of your bridge types to create a maximum-strength bridge that holds a record number of pennies!

Building Bridges at Catalina Day School

This Week at Catalina

Foam Marble Tracks

One of my very favorite activities for kids of all ages (adults included) are marble tracks. Recently I discovered a new and less costly material that is perfect for this activity: insulated foam for pipes! You can purchase this in the plumbing section of any home-improvement store. It comes in all sizes but I typically use the 1/2" to 3/4" diameter tubing. (Hint: Bring a marble along with you to make sure it is the right size). While you're there, make sure you grab a roll of Gorilla Tape, as well (usually in the paint section). This tape is great for attaching the track to concrete or other foundation materials.

Materials:

Insulated foam for pipes (as many as you wish to use)

1 roll of Gorilla Tape

Razor blade (with adult supervision)


Procedure:

You'll notice that one side of the foam tubing has a pre-cut slit in it. Go ahead and open up that slit along the full length of the insulation. Use a razor blade to cut open the other side directly opposite of the slit. Now you should have two length-wise, matching pieces.

Lay them end to end and tape them together using the Gorilla Tape. Repeat this with all sections of pipe until you have a nice, long length for your marble track. You can add in a loop or two, ramps, and all kinds of fun tricks. How steep and how long should the slope be to make the marble loop the loop?