Crater Maker

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In this activity (on pages 6-11), learners work as a team to investigate how impact craters on Earth, the Moon or other planets take shape and what patterns they make. Learners have different jobs as recorder, measurer, observer and dropper as they make their own crater by dropping a marble "meteorite" from different heights. The activity is connected to the work of geologist Adriana Ocampo who studied the Chicxulub crater in Southern Mexico. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
30 to 45 minutes
Learning Time:
45 to 60 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
$5 - $10 per group of students
Age Range:
Ages 8 - 14
Resource Types:
Activity, Simulation
Language:
English, Spanish

Materials List (per group of students)

  • 3 marbles
  • flour (about 2 liters will fill a paper bag tray about 6 cm deep)
  • cocoa powder in a shaker (about 10 ml or 1 tablespoon per team)
  • 2 meters measuring string
  • washer or other weight
  • tape
  • centimeter ruler
  • recording sheet and pencil
  • newspaper
  • tray (a cut-off grocery bag works best)
  • scissors
  • paper towels (plain white)
  • spray bottle with water

Keywords

Subjects

  • Earth and Space Science
    • Earth Structure
      • Rocks and Minerals
    • Earth's History
      • Geologic Time
    • Solar System
      • The Planets

Informal Categories

  • Outdoor Activity

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • read
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves teamwork and communication skills
  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Designed specifically for

  • Rural dweller

Culture, ethnicity, and gender

  • Girls

    • Explicity developed for this group

Other

Foreign language versions of this resource:

Includes alignment to state and/or national standards:

Includes assesments for student learning:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Source Collection

  • Science After School Consumer's Guide

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, University of Nebraska State Museum and Nebraska 4-H, 2002

Funding Sources:

  • National Science Foundation Informal Science Education Program, 9909496
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute