Dirty Adventures

1. Take some white paper out-of-doors and find soil from some different places. If you have a shovel, take samples that are from below ground level. With the paper flat on a hard surface, like a driveway, sidewalk or blacktop, rub each soil sample onto the paper. You might be surprised at the colors that come out! Be creative and artistic.

2. Dig a hole. Yup! Just dig a hole. In a safe and permissible place, of course. How deep can you go. The Nature Place is in Rockland County. What do you think we find a lot of whenever we dig a hole? What will you find? Try the rubbing activity above with the soils you find at different levels.

3. Find a place where the soil seems to be eroding or washing away, where little ‘canyons’ might be forming. Get a pitcher or two full of water and gently pour onto the top or beginning of the eroded area. Watch how the flowing water moves, carves, pushes and creates.