facebook Weathering & Erosion Activity for Kids - Erosion Model DIY
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Weathering & Erosion Activity for Kids

Erosion Model DIY

  • Duration: 15-45 min
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Cost: $0 to $5

Make a model of weathering, erosion, and deposition using a stream.

Visit The Full Lesson Download Instructions as PDF

Material List

  • 1Bag of sand
  • 1Pen or pencil
  • 1Cup of small rocks
  • 1Large bottle of water
  • 1Baking tray (or similar sized container)

Instructions

  • 1In one half of the tray make a landmass with the sand (must be sloped downward).
  • 2Lightly drag a pen or pencil through the sand in an “S” shape to create a riverbed.
  • 3Place stones along the riverbed.
  • 4Slowly pour water where the riverbed starts.

How It Works

When weathering breaks down the Earth's surface it forms small pieces of dirt, sand, and small rocks. All of this material can get moved through erosion - this happened in the model when flowing water in the riverbed moved some of the material down the hill. Eventually, these pieces ended up somewhere else. The process of the material being deposited at the bottom of the hill is called deposition.

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Check out the Full Lesson on Weathering & Erosion!

In this lesson, we learn that:

  • The Earth’s surface gets broken down through weathering.
  • Small pieces of the Earth get moved through erosion.
  • The small pieces are deposited somewhere else through a process called deposition.

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