Variable Rivers
Jill Baumtrog
This activity is designed to be used as an introduction to rivers and river processes. Students will be working in small groups to test an isolated variable in rivers; they will test either the amount of water, ...

Activity for the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca, New York
Richard Kendrick, SUNY Cortland, Richard.Kendrick@cortland.edu
This is an in-depth assignment to explore and write about the history of life as represented at the Museum of the Earth at the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, New York. Students will examine several ...

M & M Decay
Rebecca Teed, Wright State University-Main Campus
This is a simulation of radioactive decay which illustrates what a half-life is and explains some of the challenges involved with radiometric dating. Pennies or other cheap coins can be substituted for M&Ms if ...

Semi-Brittle Deformation Experiments
Alan Chapman, Macalester College
This lab uses analog modeling to investigate how earth materials deform within the brittle-ductile transition zone.

Old Sticks in the Mud: Hazards of Lahars from Mount Rainier Volcano
Patrick Pringle, Centralia College
Volcanic debris flows (lahars) flow long distances, bury and aggrade river valleys, and cause long-term stream disturbances and dramatic landscape changes. Students will evaluate the nature, scale, and history of ...

The History of the Earth: Classroom Activity
Heather Petcovic, Western Michigan University
Students use events in an older adult's life to develop a timeline, which is then related to a scaled model of major events in the earth's history and the development of the geologic timescale.

Radiometric Dating Isochron exercise
John Weber, Grand Valley State University
Hands-on introduction to using the isochron method to determine radiometric ages.

Teaching radioactive decay & radiometric dating: an analog activity based on fluid dynamics
Erika Grundstrom, Vanderbilt University
Radiometric dating/geochronology is a difficult concept for students. Using the (rather messy) medium of shampoo, students watch it flow through holes of different sizes, determine the exponential decay equation, ...

Calibrating the Geological Time Scale
Paul Rider, Grand View University; Brent Miller, Texas A & M University
This activity uses the CHRONOS website to determine the absolute age of a portion of the geological time scale through the construction and use of a calibration curve

Geomorphology and place
Margaret McMillan, University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Students choose a place that is named based on its relationship to geomorphology. They research and describe the geologic template, geologic processes and time involved in the formation of their chosen place and ...