There are many different types of volcanoes. All involve the eruption of molten rock called magma which is discharged as lava. Some volcanoes explode very violently and do not create much lava, while others which rarely have big explosions produce large amounts of lava. Some grow into huge cone shaped, steep sided mountains while others spread out over large areas and do not have steep sides. Make a model which erupts like a volcano. Note: this activity is quite complicated but effective. Other options are available from Volcano World (US).
Fossils are evidence in sedimentary rocks of things which existed at the time the sediments were being deposited. This evidence can be in the form of skeletons (bone, shell, etc), traces of activity (footprints, burrows, etc) and even chemicals which are made only by living things. Sometimes the original skeletal fossil is dissolved and only a hole where it once was remains. This hole is called a mould of the fossil. Sometimes the hole is filled in later by other minerals, which take the shape of the original fossil. This is called a cast of the fossil. We can make our own casts of fossils and modern skeletons using plasticine and plaster.
Gold panning is a wonderful recreation for all the family. Learning how to pan for gold is simple and lots of fun.
Earthquakes are one of the most powerful natural forces which can disrupt our daily lives. A seismometer (size-mom-ett-ah) records the movement of the ground by measuring the seismic waves (shock waves) from an earthquake. A simple seismometer can be made to demonstrate the shaking of the ground.
To create this stomp test
Ripples should be evident on the surface of the water. This demonstrates the shock waves present and represents those occurring during an earthquake.