Summer Activities 2--rocks!

Geology is the study of rocks. There are many different rocks on earth, and the rocks tell the history of our planet. This is a cool site with lots of information about rocks! Make sure you do all the activities and take the quizes!

After you're done, you'll know that sedimentary rocks are made up of sand and pebbles that have been compressed together with heat and pressure. You can make your own sedimentary rock! Fill a plastic cup with sand, dirt, and a few small rocks. Add some water. When the water has compressed the dirt a bit, add a little more dirt, then a little more water. Continue to add these ingredients until the cup is full. Put your plastic cup in direct sunlight for a couple of weeks. What happened to the dirt, rocks, and sand? Your sedimentary rock is called a conglomerate, because there are little pebbles inside of it. It probably won't stay together very well when you try to take it out of the plastic cup. Why do you think this might be? Your sediment has been exposed to heat, but not to pressure. It also takes years for nature to make sedimentary rocks. Now, you know how nature does it!