Earthtrek gravestone project

EarthTrek is a global citizen science programme, launched on 1st July this year. One of the projects that people are being asked to become involved in is the measurement of the weathering of marble gravestones; click here for more details.
Note - the measurement of the lead letters can be done with a tyre depth gauge if a micrometer is not available. Participants could also look to see if there is any difference in the weathering of one side of the stone from the other side; this may indicate the influence of the prevailing wind. In the U.K. the latitude and longitude of the site can be found on Ordnance Survey maps so you don't need GPS.
The weathering rates of gravestones are an indication of changes in the acidity of rainfall between locations and over time. The acidity is affected by air pollution and other factors, and could be used as a measure of changes in climate and pollution levels.
'Weathering - rocks breaking up and breaking down' is the Earthlearningidea activity concerned with the various ways rocks are weathered.

More readers' comments

We have just published more readers' comments and suggestions as follows:-
(1) 'The rock cycle in wax' - Earth as a System category
(2) 'Modelling for rocks: what's hidden inside and why?' - Earth Materials and Resources and Environment categories
(3) 'Salt of the Earth' - Earth Energy category
(4) 'From rain to spring' - Resources and Environment category

New Earthlearningidea - Make your own oil and gas reservoir

Ask pupils how they think oil and gas are found in their natural state. Do oil and gas deposits lie in great underground lakes, on the sea bed or within the pore spaces of the rocks? Find out by downloading our new Earthlearningidea 'Make your own oil and gas reservoir'.

Interpreting the evidence from dinosaur footprints

This is a very popular Earthlearningidea - 'The meeting of the dinosaurs - 100 million years ago: the evidence given by dinosaur footprints'. Tracks or traces of creatures are fossils just as are their shells and bones. Dinosaur footprints give clues to the lives of the animals of the past. They may give more clues to their lifestyles than the fossil bones themselves. They also give clues about the ancient environments in which they lived.
This is a very good end-of-school-year activity. Please let us know what your pupils think happened.

Make you own symmetrical ripple marks in sand

Can you suggest how these symmetrical ripple marks were formed? Last week's asymmetrical ripple marks were formed by a uni-directional current. What do fossilised ripple marks tell you about current directions? Find out by downloading this activity.
There are many Earth-related activities for you to try on our website. Do please let us know how you get on with any of them.

Make your own asymmetrical ripple marks in sand

Have you tried this Earthlearningidea? If you found a sandstone rock like the one shown in the photo, would you know how the shapes had been formed? Find out by trying this activity - 'Sand ripple marks in a washbowl'. These ripple marks are asymmetrical; how do symmetrical ripple marks form? These are just two of the many types of sedimentary structures that can form in sand.

AEON EarthWISE using ELI

AEON EarthWISE is currently hosted by the Department of Geology of the University of the Free State, South Africa. It aims to provide training for science educators in the Earth and Beyond (E&B) field that was incorporated into the Natural Science Curriculum for the General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) in 2005.
AEON EarthWISE is currently preparing two teacher workshops in the first week of August as part of National Science Week. The organisers plan to reach 80 teachers from all over the Free State. Two activity books, (one for Intermediate Phase and one for Senior Phase), have been set up to distribute to the teachers during these workshops and Earthlearningidea activities form a huge part of these books. ELI activities fit right into the National Curriculum. The activities have been printed in their pdf format and put into the Appendices in the back of the books.
The current coordinator says, "I can't wait to show it to the teachers, because I truly believe that doing these activities in the classroom can be nothing but beneficial to the learners. So yes, we are definitely putting your ideas to good use. Thank you very much for them!"
The Earthlearningidea team is delighted to hear about this venture and the use of our activities. We wish the organisers every success for their workshops in August.
To the rest of the world - - please let us know of any similar uses of our ideas.