Sedimentary Rock Formation:
Yummy Sediments!

Oh how delicious!  Make an edible sedimentary rock formation that tells a story from the time of the dinosaurs.

Geologists classify rocks according to where they come from and how they are formed.  One of the most fun types of rocks for the younger crowd are sedimentary rocks.

These are the rocks you will find fossils in.  The layers can be striking and kids are fascinated by how these rocks form and leave behind clues from the past.

These are the rocks you will find fossils in.  The layers can be striking and kids are fascinated by how these rocks form and leave behind clues from the past.

How Sedimentary Rocks are Formed

Sedimentary rocks are formed on the surface of the Earth when tiny grains of dirt, sand, mud and clay are worn off other rocks and washed into streams, rivers, lakes and oceans.  When these tiny bits settle to the bottom of water, they are called "sediment."

Bryce Canyon

Minerals and tiny animals also get mixed up in the dirt and sand which creates more sediment.  Every day more sediment piles on top of what's already there. Eventually the weight and pressure from all of those layers turns the sediment into sedimentary rocks.

These rocks don't have crystals because they don't come from molten lava.  If you see bands or layering in a rock, rounded grains and it chips easily, it is likely sedimentary.

Make Some Yummy Sediment!

Kids love this activity, and it really reinforces for them the basic (very basic, I know!) concept of how sedimentary rock can be formed.

I suggest reading the book by Aliki called Fossils Tell of Long Ago (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) or Digging Up Dinosaurs (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) before doing this activity.

You will take your kids back in time to when dinosaurs died in a riverbed.  They will build edible layers of sediment while you guide them with a story. 

You will need:

• clear plastic cups - one per child
• spoons
• vanilla pudding (half colored blue, half left white)
• chocolate pudding
• dinosaur edible candies (Betty Crocker cake decorations work well)
• crushed Oreos and graham crackers (for different colors)

Tip:  I buy the premade pudding and just color some of the vanilla ones.  I plan on 1/2 cup of each color per student, depending on the size of my cups. 

Download the activity here.

You will read this to them while they make their Yummy Sediments.  Be sure to have the students diagram and label their sediment cups before eating them!

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Other Pages You Will Enjoy:

• Candy Classification of Rocks and Minerals - Your students will never forget the difference between the two!
  
• General Lesson Plans for Science

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