Harford District 2014 Cub Scout Day Camp June 23-78 Knights of the Roundtable Geology 2 Earthquakes and Volcanoes Station Volunteer s Guide
Thank you for being a station volunteer! The stations are the heart of camp and truly provide our scouts with an opportunity to try out a new skill (or build on one they know) while having a great time. Our volunteers knowledge and enthusiasm is what makes our camp great! To make running the station easier, please take some time to read through the station guide. While, what is being covered at the station needs to remain as outlined so that the scouts earn the correct achievements, how it is covered is only one of many methods. If you find a better way to accomplish the requirements or if the method we have outlined doesn t seem to be working please feel free to change it! This is only a guide do what works best for you and the scouts coming to your station. One other thing to keep in mind some stations will be visited by all ranks. That means you may have 6 year olds through 11 year olds and may have to simplify or intensify the methods to meet the skills and knowledge of all the scouts. Thanks again we are glad to have you as part of Harford Day Camp! Station Procedures The first station begins at 10:15 on Monday and 9:15 other days so you have some time! We ve tried to only schedule 2 dens at a time (max. 24 boys) but, there may be times when you have 3. Consult your station schedule so you will know who to expect and when. Greet dens as they arrive. Many will have a den cheer, ask to hear it! Once all the dens arrive or the start time has come, begin going through the procedures for the station. It is very important that you start and end on time! Each time slot lasts 45 minutes. If a den arrives 10 minutes late, they CANNOT stay 10 minutes past the end of the station that would make you and them late for the next station. If a den doesn t get finished, suggest they come back during a break or take the remaining activity with them to work on at the den. Execute the station with energy and enthusiasm! Let the scouts do as much for themselves as possible. It doesn t need to be perfect, they just need to Do Their Best! Don t forget the beads. Each scout earns a bead at every station for participating. Beads can be given to the den leader for distribution. Once the den is finished, begin resetting for the next group. Close the station at the end of the day by packing/organizing the supplies and cleaning and disposing of all trash. Let the Program Director responsible for the station (either Tiger/Wolf/Bear or Webelos) know if supplies are running short! ~ Page: 2 of 6 ~
Station Overview Discussion and hands-on activities will complete this station. Scouts will have the chance to learn about mountains, volcanoes and earthquakes in a fun and hands-on way. Completing these activities will fill requirements towards their Geologist Activity Pin. Core Values: Cooperation: Respect: Being helpful and working together with others toward a common goal. Learning about the value of our earth and respecting it. Set-up: You will be running the Requirement 5 activity first. You should set up those materials before the dens arrive and have the others close at hand for the next activity. Open station bins and take out the materials for Requirement 5: Model or poster of the tectonic plates Volcano model Baking soda, vinegar and red food coloring Paper and markers for poster making Requirement 6: Sweet tarts candy Playdough Plastic knives Break-Down After each group comes through the station, empty the volcano and get it reset for the next group. Collect any unused or left behind playdough. Refresh paper and markers as needed. At the end of the day, please return all supplies to the station box and keep in the pavilion for tomorrow s use. ~ Page: 3 of 6 ~
Station Objectives: Each scout will: Requirement 5 Make a drawing that shows the cause of an earthquake or volcano. Explain to the scouts that during this station we will be learning about mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes. Let s start with earthquakes. Who thinks they know what causes an earthquake? Solicit answers from the scouts. Reinforce the facts about earthquakes or give them if no one answered correctly. Reference the model/poster of the plates and explain the earth is made up of several huge blocks of earth called tectonic plates. If you were at camp a couple of years ago, you may remember that we investigated how some scientist believe the earth looked very different back in the age of the dinosaurs due to the constant and prolonged moving of these plates. Well an earthquake is simply when two of these plates or pieces bump into each other and then suddenly slide past one another. The point where the plates meet is called a fault. Earthquakes occur on these fault lines and the release of the built up energy of the plates moving causes the earth to shake. Next, explain volcanoes using the volcano model. Volcanoes are simply vents in the ground formed by the pressure of magma building up. Who knows what magma is? Solicit responses until someone correctly identifies magma as the molten liquid rock within the earth. After going through the parts of the volcano and what causes the eruption, use the materials provided to demonstrate and eruption. Have the boys move to the tables where paper and crayons/markers are provided. Explain that they should use the models to draw their own poster showing either how an earthquake happens or what causes a volcano to erupt. Requirement 6 Explain one way in which mountains are formed. Once the boys have completed their poster, gather them back together for the next section. Tell them, Now we are going to investigate some of the different ways mountains are formed. How many different ways do you think there are? Solicit responses. There are actually 5 different ways mountains are formed. We are going to look at 3. The first way is one that we have already talked about. Who thinks they know? Solicit answers from the scouts. Volcanoes! Yes, when all that lava flows out of the volcano it cools and hardens. Each eruption adds another layer until a mountain is formed. The second way is erosion. What is erosion? Solicit answers from the scouts Plateau mountains are formed by erosion. As years pass, streams and rivers erode valleys through the plateau, leaving mountains standing between these valleys. Let s see if we can demonstrate erosion. To do this each scout needs a small pool of water. Any ideas where we can each get a ~ Page: 4 of 6 ~
small pool of water? Let them think about this, and then tell them that their mouths can be a pool of water with acid and enzymes to 'dissolve rocks' just like a stream does. Next say, Then you need rocks. Before I hand them out, you need to listen to the rules. Since rocks are not the best thing to put in your mouth, we will use Sweet tarts. The candy cannot be chewed or swallowed whole. You can do whatever else you can think of to make your rocks erode first. Ie: They can jump around, swish the candy around in their mouth, whatever they want to do, except chew it. Have the boys stand up as you and a helper hand out the candy. Once they are done, discuss the third type of mountain formation.uplift. Layers of erosion can be uplifted into mountains. Glaciers can also help cause this as they slowly push the earth as they move along it. The material that they push out of the way bunches up to form a mountain. Now you are going to explain to each other how an uplift mountain is formed. Have the boys get into groups of 4 at the tables. Give each boy in the group a small wad of a different color playdough (you should be able to get 4 pieces out of each can of dough). They need to flatten the dough into a small pancake. Stack the pancakes on top of each other. One member of the team takes the multi-colored pancake, and gently pushes in from the sides. This causes an uplift mountain to form. (Give them clues, but try to let them figure out how they can make a mountain out of the flat playdough on their own) After a few minutes, solicit some feedback to make sure everyone figured it out. Then explain how they can then cut through their mountain with a plastic knife and see the layers. This is similar to what is done when the uplift mountain is cut through to allow for a road to go through. Background that may be helpful. What is an earthquake? An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter. Sometimes an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen in the same place as the larger earthquake that follows. Scientists can t tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the larger earthquake happens. The largest, main earthquake is called the mainshock. Mainshocks ~ Page: 5 of 6 ~
always have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after the mainshock! What causes earthquakes and where do they happen? The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. (figure 2) The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet. But this skin is not all in one piece it is made up of many pieces like a puzzle covering the surface of the earth. (figure 3) Not only that, but these puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic plates, and the edges of the plates are called the plate boundaries. The plate boundaries are made up of many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these faults. Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick on one of the faults and there is an earthquake. A volcano may refer to a vent or opening in the surface of the Earth through which lava, hot gases, ash and rock fragments erupt OR the usually conical mountain formed by the deposition and accumulation of erupted material around the opening. A volcano begins as melted rock (magma) which rises from deep inside the earth toward the surface. As the gas-filled magma rises, it melts gaps in the surrounding rock and forms a large chamber. Pressure from the solid rock around it forces the magma up to the surface through the conduit (channel) in a weakened part of the rock. The gas and melted rock blast out an opening called the central vent. The erupted materials gradually pile up around the vent, forming a volcano. A bowl-like crater generally forms at the top of the volcano. The vent lies at the bottom of the crater. ~ Page: 6 of 6 ~