Erosion Observations

Put the wax paper over the cookie sheet. In the middle of the cookie sheet, have your kids flatten a piece of clay into a rectangle. Curl one of the sides of the rectangle upward, creating a ledge.

After the clay is molded, let your children arrange sugar cubes on top of it in a grid formation. Drop a bit of food coloring on one of the sugar cubes then turn the cube so that the coloring is facing the outside of the formation. Raise the side of the cookie sheet that is opposite the ledge in the clay and place a book underneath, so that it is elevated on one side. Next, pour water onto the top of the clay rectangle, allowing it to flow through the sugar cubes.

Talk to your kids about how the water erodes the sugar cubes, which will be evident in their new shapes and in the food coloring in the water at the bottom of the cookie sheet. Repeat the experiment with different sugar cube formations.

If you still have their attention, play the video on how water and wind formed the Grand Canyon.

Materials

• Cookie sheet
• Wax paper
• Clay
• Sugar cubes
• Book
• Water
• Food coloring
• Video on Grand Canyon Formation

Outcome

This fun science activity for kids allows your little ones to see erosion firsthand. After this experiment, they will better understand how erosion changes the shape of the land, such as in the case of the Grand Canyon.