Earth science is exciting! Studying about mountain formation is fascinating. But how to keep everyone engaged- that's the question. So instead of just reading about how mountains are formed, we formed them ourselves out of playdough.
To begin with, I needed a lot of playdough. I multiplied the recipe by six, then divided the playdough into four balls and colored three of them different colors. We rolled out the balls into layers and cut them into four parts, because I have four kids doing this activity.
This is a mountain caused by the subduction of one plate under another.
To begin with, I needed a lot of playdough. I multiplied the recipe by six, then divided the playdough into four balls and colored three of them different colors. We rolled out the balls into layers and cut them into four parts, because I have four kids doing this activity.
Next I assigned each kid a different type of mountain. One made the folded mountains, like our Blue Ridge Mountains. These were made by exerting inward pressure on both sides of the slab.
Another made block thrust mountains by cutting the play dough into three pieces and the outer two push on the inner block causing it to rise as a unit.
This is the dome mountain made by magma building up underneath the earth and pushing it upward.
The volcano mountain doesn't look that great. The orange is the magma that came out of the vent and solidified on top.
This is a mountain caused by the subduction of one plate under another.
This activity is not rocket science, and it's not art, but it did engage all the age groups and help them remember how mountains are formed.
Resources:
cream of tarter playdough recipe
