Wow-To: Asteroids 101

This episode explores the type of asteroids that likely collided with Earth millions of years ago and wiped out most of the animals and plants living on the planet, including the dinosaurs. In this activity, we will simulate the effect of asteroids, or giant space rocks, colliding with planet Earth.

Materials:

• large metal baking sheet or baking pan
• any type of flour or sand
• marbles, different sized bouncy balls or rocks

Wow-To:

1. Pour the flour, or sand, onto the baking sheet. This will represent the earth’s surface.
2. The balls will represent our asteroids. Drop the largest one in your collection onto the flour filled pan.
3. Now, carefully lift it, leaving behind it’s imprint in the flour- that’s your asteroid crater!
4. Repeat with the other, smaller balls to create more craters.
5. Have fun experimenting with dropping the balls from different heights.