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Plate Tectonics with an Orange
 Art & Construction Activity
MATERIALS:
- Oranges
- Clay or play dough (optional)
- Toothpicks
ACTIVITY:
- Have the students peel the
orange without the use of a knife and in as few pieces as possible. This
peel represents the earth's crust and the crust
is in pieces just like the orange peel.
- Have the students lay the orange
peel on their work surface and record their observations.
- Tell the students
to replace the peel on the orange, securing the peel with toothpicks. Try
to fit the peel together in the original way, and
then try to see if you can fit the peel on in a new way.
DISCUSSION:
- The earth is spherical like the orange although it is difficult to see
the roundness of the earth except from space.
- What did the students observe
when the orange peel was laying on their work surface? Did they notice
that the pieces flattened out? The pieces
didn't appear
to be as round as they were when attached to the orange.
- Now that the peel is back on the orange, this better represents the
earth's crust. The cracks are called faults and it is the shifting
of the plates (orange
peel) that causes earthquakes and volcanic activity.
- How do the continents
fit into this theory?
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITY:
Since most of the fault lines on the earth's crust are not visible, the students
may wish to roll out a thin piece of clay (or play dough) and cover the orange.
They should carefully remove the toothpicks as the clay is placed.
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