Crater projects can relate to Earth as well as other planets.
Craters make for an intriguing and mysterious topic for kids to study. These depressions in the surface of Earth and its moon, alongside other stellar bodies, are often the result of meteorite collisions. Examining how craters form and why is something science projects can address, but the topic also offers opportunities for a range of related activities. Science projects on craters are best suited to students from grades three and upwards.
Flour Crater
This project helps kids to understand how craters are created. You'll need some flour, which you empty into a baking tray and flatten to begin. If you're teaching a class, you may need several similar baking trays filled with flour. Kids drop small rocks or marbles into the flour. Students can then observe the impact the object makes in the flour, comparable to a crater's effect on a landscape.
Craters on Earth
A number of craters have been identified on Earth, and this project sees kids setting out to find some of these. First, ask the students to research where these craters are by using the Internet. Kids should aim to find at least three or four. Kids can then prepare a presentation about each crater in small groups. This presentation could include an indication of each crater's location on a world map and a brief description of each.
Craters Elsewhere
Earth isn't the only place with craters. Ask students to explore where else in the solar system craters can be found. For example, space probes have found plenty of craters on Mars, while those on the Earth's moon are easily visible from Earth. Students should work in small groups to prepare a project on the craters found on one of these stellar objects. In the project, students should include facts such as crater sizes and features.
Clues about Meteorites
Of the craters on Earth, around 150 were caused by meteorites, according to the Science Buddies website. For this project, students working alone or in small groups should imagine that they're scientists who are tasked with identifying whether a crater was created by meteorite impact or not. Students will need to research and then describe the ways in which scientists find evidence of meteorite, such as geological surveillance.
Weights of Meteorites
The earlier flour-based project showed students how an object creates a crater, but a more advanced study could look at how the size of a meteorite affects the crater it makes. For this project, students will need to prepare flour in baking trays as before, and also assemble different objects of various weightings to drop in the flour. These objects should range in weight but be roughly the same size to enable an interesting experiment.
Tags: project students, small groups, this project, baking trays, craters found
