Fourth graders were given the opportunity to explore fast and slow changes in Earth’s land formations by simulating boulders rolling down a mountain! After learning the concepts of weathering and erosion students were able to put these into practice by shaking sugar cubes in various containers. This lets the students visualize difficult scientific principles with hands-on tools they can understand. This lesson also allowed the students to make predictions and theorize about the effects of Earth’s ongoing weathering and erosion and ways they could potentially impact and combat it in the future.
“According to the STEM Education Coalition, in 2010 there were 26 million jobs in STEM fields, constituting 20% of all U.S. jobs. By 2020 that figure is expected to grow by 9.2 million jobs, 4.6 million of those in the computing field alone.”
