My class visits the Geology Department – by Geokid

I went on a tour with my class yesterday in the Geology Department of Kent State University. My mom, my dad, and I led the tour. We got there by traveling on a special bus that had painted windows. When we got to the building, we looked for my parents and we looked around the halls a little bit. We went into a secret room where there were glowing rocks. It was dark in room, and then we turned lights on the rocks. When we turned them off, the rocks glowed. And we went out a secret way, and when we came out, we said, ”ta da!”

Geokid’s parents welcome her class to the department of Geology.

Then we split up into two groups: the water group and the rock group. First, I was in the water group, and second I was in the rock group. In the water group, we played in the stream table. We found houses and little pieces of grass, and we tried to make a flood, but then we made a dam so the flood couldn’t get into the ocean. The dams got broken because the water could go under the plastic sand. We tried to make new dams, but we also made whirlpools in the ocean. We learned that rivers can go out of their paths and then back into their paths.

Playing with the EmRiver Stream Table.

In the rock group, we looked at rocks or fossils or both and drew a picture. The picture was supposed to help us remember the rocks and fossils. Then we went back to the place where we were going to eat snack, and we looked at fossils and rocks. We got to hold them and study them with magnifying glasses. There was one that was an ammonite, and there was one that floated in water, and there was one that was magnetic. Some had big crystals, and some were made from lots of rocks and pebbles. Then we got the magnets and we did some experiments. We magneted them to the magnetic rock.

The class picks out their favourite rock.

Checking out Psittacosaurus.

Floating rocks, magnetic rocks… smelly rocks?!

Then we ate snack. Snack was rainbow goldfish, and you got a choice from grape juice or strawberry kiwi juice. Then we watched two movies. The first one we watched was “There are fossils rocks in the ground tonight. They’ve been down there for a very long time. They contain the history of life.” And we also watched “I am a paleontologist! That’s who I am. That’s who I am. That’s who I am.” Then we got little bags of rocks from the students in the Kent State Geological Society. And then we back on campus loop.

The students seem younger every year…. although this class is being remarkably attentive!

We were really excited so when we came home we said “Geology Rocks!” My friends learned that geology rocks.