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.