USING 3D PRINTED MODELS AND INTERACTIVE SIMULATIONS TO INCREASE UNDERSTANDING OF EROSION IN K12 EARTH SCIENCE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS

Teaching environmental science in the classroom is often a challenging task elementary teachers face due to ever-changing developments in the field. Many teachers are not current on topics relating to environmental science and reach out to their local college or university for help with delivering the content and physical resources. At Appalachian State University’s Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences we partner with local school teachers and model innovative, hands-on activities that teachers can use in their classrooms to bring environmental science practices to their students. By incorporating new technology like 3D printing into traditional educational activities, we can create more exciting ways for students to learn.

A recent exercise we designed for K-8 students demonstrates how various soil types can alter erosion rates. This activity is comprised of two parts, the first includes making compact cupcakes out of varying soils (clay rich, organic rich, and sandy) and seeing how water erodes them. The second activity includes printing miniature, 3D landscape objects such as trees and houses and incorporating them into DIY watersheds made with painter’s trays and sand to demonstrate erosion due to water. This is a simple, yet effective activity that can easily be reproduced on a shoestring budget.

This type of hands-on activity addresses student preconceptions and provides a visual that will help students remember the concept. Most students predict that the clay rich soil erodes slower than the forest soil, when the opposite is true. The activity is followed by a discussion of why this is and why land cover can affect erosion rates of different soils. In the watershed activity, students are surprised at how fast the structures fall or wash away when water is poured on the structures. Further discussion and exploration allow students to understand how adding different objects like rocks, more trees, etc. would help control erosion rates. By providing geoscientist expertise, modeling of activities, undergraduate student help, learning modules that are aligned with state and national science standards, and physical resources, we support local educators and enable them to help their students understand the natural world.