Field Trip to the Hutchinson Salt Mine

Sixth graders took a field trip to the Hutchinson Salt Mine on September 23, 2014.   The students were able to ride a shaft elevator into the underground mine that is located 650 feet below the surface of the ground.  Tour guides described the rock formations and gave some history on the sea that used to cover Kansas.   Students were easily able to see the layers of sediment that had formed into the sedimentary rocks after the water evaporated.   Guides described the mine that is still in operation and gave examples of products that were exported from the facility.  Students were also able to tour a museum of artifacts that were being stored in the mine for safekeeping because the salty environment acts as a preservative.   The Hollywood artifacts were the class favorites.  

Applying Engineering!

One of the jobs that is available for students interested in geology is the job as a geotechnical engineer.  These engineers  drill soil cores and study soil profiles. They use their analysis to make predictions about land use and which sites would be best for development.   Sixth graders drilled some of the boreholes in the outdoor learning site.  They measured the depth of the sample, drew a graph of the different types of soil seen and calculated the fraction of these types to the whole core.  A description of the soil grain and color was also included.  The activity simulated an environmental site assessment for a company who is planning on developing a housing community in the area.  Students wrote recommendations that they would make to the company about placing a building in our learning site. 

Sixth Graders Are The Best!!!

       One of the great benefits our school receives from having sixth grade a part of our elementary school is that they help coach younger students.

Early in the morning before school starts, you will find students with their sixth grade coach practicing math facts and letter identification.   These partnerships develop close relationships that follow these students throughout their school careers. 

Density = Mass/Volume

One of the identifying characteristics of a mineral is in the density of the sample.  Sixth graders read earlier in the week that a mineral's density is determined by the kinds of atoms that make up the mineral, as well as how closely the atoms are joined together.

Geologists use special scales to determine the density of minerals.  The sixth graders estimated the density by measuring the mass of a sample mineral on a set of balance scales. They then measured the volume by displacing water.  The density was then computed by dividing the mass by volume.

Student teams tested five samples and then exchanged mineral samples to verify the work of another team.   The samples were placed in greatest to least order according to the number of grams per cubic centimeter.

 

Sixth Grade Science Students Enjoy the Outdoor Learning Lab

Sixth graders used the new outdoor learning lab as a place to investigate minerals.  The shaded, cool, cemented area was a great place to test minerals for hardness, luster, streak, and any reaction they may have had to an acid.    Students used Mohs Scale to conduct a scratch test using their fingernails, a penny, and a nail to determine the hardness of five mystery minerals.  They observed the color of the streak that was left on a tile and whether or not the mineral rock was attracted to a magnet.  A reaction to vinegar was also a characteristic students were watching for.   Finally, students referred to a Mineral Identification Key to make final conclusions on which minerals they were identifying.  Talc, magnetite, calcite, quartz, and halite were the mystery minerals.