Weathering and Erosion Skittles Lab

I found a creative way to teach weathering and erosion using Skittles.  It was the first time I used this lesson but it's definitely a keeper! :)

 We each took one Skittle (represented a rock) and placed it on the styrofoam plate (represented the Earth).

 Next, we added 10 drops of water which represented precipitation or rain.

 We learned that weathering was occurring when the precipitation from the water dropper hit the Skittle and pieces of the shell were worn away or broken off.

 We kept adding 10 more drops of water and making notes of our observations.

 We observed that as the "rock" got lighter the "sediment" got darker.

 After 40 drops of water we all came to the same conclusion...

that erosion took place in this lab when the colored water flowed away from Skittle.  The water washed away the color which represented sediment, minerals, and rock fragments.