100 Days of Science-- #64 Making a Model of Earth's Layers

I challenged the boys to make a model showing the different layers of the Earth.  In typical homeschooling fashion they each chose their own method of model making.  I had them write up a list of supplies and purchased what they needed.  Then they set to work.



Ian chose to paint a Styrofoam dome and labeled the various layers using toothpicks and sticky labels.  Evan chose to make a layered pudding dessert in individual see through cups; asking for help writing the names of the layers right on the cups.  Alec wanted to make a cake model of the Earth and after a few false starts settled on using colored frosting to simulate the layers.


Evan began by mixing up some vanilla pudding

Ian set right to work adding paints colors in concentric circles 

Alec decided to make a dome cake and prepared the glass bowl with grease and flour

Once Ian had all his layers painted on he set the foam aside to dry and began making labels. 

Evan divided the pudding into different bowls and colored each one a different color.  Then spooned each layer into his cup.

His inner core was made of mini marshmallows

His crust consisted of crushed Oreos.  I helped wrote each of the words for him as he pointed to
each layer and read aloud the spelling of them from his science book.

By far Evan most enjoyed eating his model earth!


Ian stuck his labels into his model and he was finished.  He did a wonderful job!




Once Alec's cake was cooled we turned it out of the bowl and set it on our cake plate.  He decided to cut a corner off to reveal the inside.


He then mixed up a lot of frosting and broke it down into many smaller cups adding different food coloring to each dish for the various layers of the earth. He began piping each layer onto his cake.


he even decorate the outside of the cake with some very crude shapes of continents.


Once he had the whole thing frosted to his liking he too decided to use toothpicks and sticky labels.  It was hard to stick them into the cake and frosting to get them to stay but since his idea of baking the various layers into the cake had failed he was making do with a plan b.  I admired that.




The whole family eagerly dug into his cake for snack that night and while they remarked that a cake mix and jarred frosting were nowhere near as tasty as Alec's cakes he usually makes from scratch they could not deny that science could be quite tasty.



Others in this series:
53. Iodine and Starch Experiment
54. Flouride and Calcium Experiment
55. Botanical Gardens in Winter
56.  Making Cell Models
57. Which Has More Water; Ice or Snow?
58. Exploding Snow and Water Baggies
59.  Exploring Minerals
60. Visiting the Hartford Science Museum
61-63. 3 STEM Bridge Challenges



Comments

  1. I love everything about this project. So cool to see the different ways each boy completed the assignment!

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    1. Thank you! They had so much fun with it too and I think that's because they had choices.

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  2. I love all of the different ways you made the earth. So cool!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I love that they each were able to play to their own talents.

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  3. I love all the different projects, especially the edible ones! Thanks for linking up with Hello Monday! Tanya - The Other Side of the Road

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  4. ...it was science fair time for my two young granddaughters, but they had nothing to eat!

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    1. Ha! My boys are always looking for ways to turn every subject into a meal or snack.

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  5. How fun and cool! And best of all, you get to eat the experiments!!!

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  6. These are some great and inventive ideas. And thanks for sharing it with us at #OMGHWW.

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    1. Thanks! The boys came up with them (after searching Pinterest for a few fun ideas).

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  7. AMAZING! You and your boys have so much fun learning!

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