Homeschool Days: Careers in Earth Science 

Wednesday, April 13, 2022 - 10am-2pm

 From the weather above to aquifers below, Careers in Earth Science work with the interconnected systems that sustain our planet. At Homeschool Day on Wednesday, April 13, test water samples to reveal microorganisms, discover why our local limestone “rocks”, see a miniature watershed in action, and try being a topographer to help create a massive map of the Pedernales River System. Plus, Learning Labs for grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-12 and 50+ interactive exhibits to explore!

HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

What’s in the water? 
What can a bug tell us about water quality? Find out by using a real digital microscope to identify small invertebrate organisms from local waterways. The types of species you discover are clues about how clean the water really is.

Model watershed demonstrations (10:30-10:45am, 11:30-11:45am, & 12:30-12:45pm)
Check out a miniature community with a working watershed! How does rain and the water we use on lawns and farms reconnect to the watershed—and how can we stop harmful pollution from getting carried along with it? (Special thanks to the Highland Lakes Texas Master Naturalists for sharing their model.)

Nature’s water filter demonstrations (11-11:15am, 11:45am-12pm, & 12:45-1pm)
Did you know nature has its own water filtration systems? See how water filters through a slab of limestone (yes, stone!) and discover why the aquifer system deep in the bedrock below Central Texas is so important to our water quality.

Living Mural: Topographic mapping
How do we show steep peaks, rolling hills, and other 3D landscape features on flat maps? Time to think like a topographer! Learn to read a topographic map, then grab a marker and join the team adding topographic details that will help complete our big map of the Pedernales River System.

(NOTE: The topographic mapping activity will take place in the Theater, so there will be no 3D movie at April’s Homeschool Day event. Thank you for your understanding!)

Career Corner
If you’re a curious thinker who likes working outdoors, one of the many careers in Earth Science could be your calling! Learn more about the work geologists, soil scientists, and hydrologists do with fun games from the Career Connections resource, included on your Homeschool Day schedule.

LEARNING LABS

Kinder-2nd
Hooray for Hydroponics – 10:30-11:15am
Get to know plants, from seed to shoot and root to leaves, with a tour of the Science Mill’s Aquaponics Greenhouse. Explore what plants need to survive and how they can thrive even without soil. Plant your own hydroponics starter kit to take home!

Grades 3rd-5th
Groundwater Detectives – 11:30am-12:30pm
Take on a real-life science problem: in January, a chemical spill at a nearby factory may have contaminated the groundwater in Clark, NV. Join a team of environmental engineers to help the community test the site and experiment with different options to create a clean-up plan, guided by the Engineering Design Process.

Grades 6th-12th
Caring for Our Creeks – 1-2pm
There’s more than meets the eye in every drop of creek water. Conduct a series of tests on samples from the creek at the Mill and build a hypothesis about the water quality. Take an even closer look—down to the microscopic level—to test out your ideas and discover why the microorganisms living in water can be clues to larger environmental issues.