GeoBus Secondary School Workshops

Through a series of practical activities, students will learn about the impacts of increasing CO₂ on planet Earth, including changing ocean chemistry and albedo effects such as melting ice caps.

Year Groups: S1 – S4

Delivery Time: Single (50 minutes) or double (100 minutes) period

Set-up Time: 20 minutes

Requirements:

• A classroom space or school hall with desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint and speakers for playing video sound.
• Access to a deep sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• I can investigate the relationship between climate and weather to be able to understand the causes of weather patterns within a selected climate zone. SOC 3-12a
• I can identify threats facing the main climate zones, including climate change, and analyse how these threats impact on the way of life. SOC 4-12a
• I can carry out a geographical enquiry to assess the impact and possible outcomes of climate change on a selected region and can propose strategies to slow or reverse the impact. SOC 4-12b
• I can explain some of the processes which contribute to climate change and discuss the possible impact of atmospheric change on the survival of living things. SCN 3-05b

Land ice experiment – which melting ice will cause sea level rise?

Sea ice experiment – which melting ice will cause sea level rise?

Observing change in pH when dissolving carbon dioxide in fresh water

Ocean circulation experiment – hot water overlaying colder, denser water

As famous Scottish geologist James Hutton once said, “the present is the key to the past”. The geological record contains valuable information about Earth’s past.

In this workshop, students will examine a variety of edible cores, describing the layers and relationships between them. We then move on to model successive volcanic eruptions, take cores and identify which volcano they were taken from. Finally, we briefly discuss how cores are being used in current Earth science research.

Year Groups: S1 – S4

Delivery Time: Single (50 minutes) or double (100 minutes) period

Set-up Time: 20 minutes

Requirements:

• This session uses food products to illustrate different rock layers in a core – please inform us of any food allergies prior to our visit.
• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• Having investigated processes which form and shape landscapes, I can explain their impact on selected landscapes in Scotland, Europe and beyond. SOC 3-07a
• I can explain how the interaction of physical systems shaped and continue to shape the Earth’s surface by assessing their impact on contrasting landscape types. SOC 4-07a
• Through evaluation of a range of data, I can describe the formation, characteristics and uses of soils, minerals and basic types of rocks. SCN 3-17a
• National 5 Environmental Science –
  • 2. Geosphere
    • Definitions: weathering, transportation, erosion, deposition, igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, rock, mineral, ore, porosity, permeability.
    • Structure of the Earth
    • Rock cycle processes
    • Relationships between rocks, minerals and ores
    • Properties of rocks

Cake and biscuit cores

Shaping playdough into 3 different overlapping lava flows

Several lava flows with a core taken through the layers

Describing cake and biscuit cores – texture, colour, thickness

Fossils provide an insight into the past, allowing palaeontologists to better understand both evolution and environmental change through geological time.

During this workshop, students will have the opportunity to study a range of fossils; both fossil hand specimens and thin sections (containing tiny fossils) under a microscope. The collection includes trilobites, ammonites and corals ranging in age from 10,000 to 520 million years old.

Year Groups: S1 – S3

Delivery Time: Single period (50 minutes)

Set-up Time: 30 minutes

Requirements:

• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• Space and sockets for plugging in 6 to 12 microscopes.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• I can explain some of the processes which contribute to climate change and discuss the possible impact of atmospheric change on the survival of living things. SCN 3-05b
• I can investigate the climate, physical features and living things of a natural environment different from my own and explain their interrelationship. SOC 3-10a

A sketch of a coral sample

Fossil Ammonite cast

Fossil Coral

Equipment for Fascinating Fossils workshop

This workshop takes students on a journey through the Rock Cycle, discovering the forces that shape our planet and introducing how geologists study earth processes by examining different types of rocks and deducing their history.

Year Groups: S3 – S6

Delivery Time: Single (50 minutes) or double (100 minutes) period

Set-up Time: 20 minutes

Requirements: 

• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• Through evaluation of a range of data, I can describe the formation, characteristics and uses of soils, minerals and basic types of rocks. SCN 3-17a
• Having investigated processes which form and shape landscapes, I can explain their impact on selected landscapes in Scotland, Europe and beyond.  SOC 3-07a
• National 5 Environmental Science –
  • 2. Geosphere
    • Definitions: weathering, transportation, erosion, deposition, igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, rock, mineral, ore, porosity, permeability.
    • Structure of the Earth
    • Rock cycle processes
    • Relationships between rocks, minerals and ores
    • Properties of rocks
    • Limestone

Obsidian handling sample

Identifying metamorphic rock types

Identifying igneous rock types

Identifying sedimentary rock types

In the first part of this interactive workshop, students contribute to discussion about plate tectonics and earthquakes, investigate different types of seismic waves and work together to produce a model seismograph.

Students then work in small groups to apply their knowledge and understanding in order to design and build a structure, which is tested to see it if would withstand an earthquake.

Year Groups: S1 – S3

Delivery Time: Single period (50 minutes)

Set-up Time: 15 minutes

Requirements: 

• Ideally, a school hall with desks and seats for up to 30 students with one large table at the front for testing the students’ buildings at the end. If a school hall is not available, then this workshop can run in a classroom space.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to the internet.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• Having investigated processes which form and shape landscapes, I can explain their impact on selected landscapes in Scotland, Europe and beyond.  SOC 3-07a

Earthquake Building Challenge – a structure ready to test – can it withstand the shake table?!

Earthquake Building Challenge structure

Earthquake Building Challenge creation

In this interactive session students contribute to a discussion on plate tectonics and volcanoes.

Students run experiments using popping canisters to simulate explosive volcanic eruptions. From the data gathered, they form an evacuation plan and the experiment is repeated to demonstrate how tricky it is to predict such volatile processes.

The workshop concludes with demonstrations of some of the technologies used to monitor active volcanoes.

Year Groups: S1 – S5

Delivery Time: Single (50 minutes) or double (100 minutes) period

Set-up Time: 20 minutes

Requirements: 

• Ideally, a school hall with seats for up to 30 students. If a school hall is not available, then this workshop can run in a classroom space as long as there is access to a nearby outdoor area where we can carry out some of the practical activities, if the weather allows.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• Having investigated processes which form and shape landscapes, I can explain their impact on selected landscapes in Scotland, Europe and beyond. SOC 3-07a
• I can explain how the interaction of physical systems shaped and continue to shape the Earth’s surface by assessing their impact on contrasting landscape types. SOC 4-07a
• Through evaluation of a range of data, I can describe the formation, characteristics and uses of soils, minerals and basic types of rocks. SCN 3-17a
• National 5 Geography –
  • Global Issues – Environmental Hazards
    • the main features of earthquakes, volcanoes and tropical storms
    • causes of each hazard
    • impact of each hazard on people and the landscape
    • management – methods of prediction and planning, and strategies adopted in response to environmental hazards

Popping canister experiment – Creating an evacuation plan

Monitoring volcanoes – predictions for evacuation day

Infrared camera on warm hands on a cold desk

Creating a model of an effusive volcanic eruption using a film canister, water and vitamin C tablet

This hands-on session gives pupils a chance to discover what minerals are and find out about their different uses in everyday life.

Students pan for minerals in trays of sand. They then sort the minerals according to various characteristics and identify them, before learning about the uses of some of the main minerals.

Year Groups: S1 – S3

Delivery Time: Single period (50 minutes)

Set-up Time: 20 minutes

Requirements: 

• Ideally, a school hall with seats for up to 30 students. If a school hall is not available, then this workshop can run in a classroom space.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• I can participate in practical activities to extract useful substances from natural resources. SCN 3-17b
• Through evaluation of a range of data, I can describe the formation, characteristics and uses of soils, minerals and basic types of rocks. SCN 3-17a
• I can discuss the sustainability of key natural resources and analyse the possible implications for human activity. SOC 4-08a
• I can explain how the distribution and control of important natural resources affects the international power and influences of states. SOC 4-11b

Olivine

Panning in action

Using a key to identify minerals

This practical workshop, a complete investigation from start to finish, enables students to visually compare the impact of a storm on three different surface types. Students then go on to plot and interpret their own hydrograph using the data they have gathered.

Year Group: S5 – S6

Delivery Time: Double period (100 minutes)

Set-up Time: 40 minutes

Requirements:

• The workshop is best suited to a large indoor space such as a school hall without carpet, but this must be on the ground floor if there is no access to a lift in the school. If a school hall is not available, it can run in an under cover outdoor space depending on the weather.
• Desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a deep sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• Please note that at the end of the workshop we will have muddy water to dispose of down an outside drain.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.
• Does your school have a garden or compost heap that would benefit from our waste turf and soil?

Curriculum Links:

• Higher Geography –
  • Skills, knowledge and understanding for the course assessment
    • Geographical Skills
      • Research skills including fieldwork skills: gathering, processing, interpreting, evaluating
      • Using numerical and graphical information which may be presented in the following ways: statistical, graphical, tabular
    • Physical Environments
      • Hydrosphere: hydrological cycle within a drainage basin, interpretation of hydrographs
• Higher Environmental Science –
  • Living Environment
    • 3. Human influences on biodiversity
      • Environmental assessment and monitoring
        • Use and interpretation of hydrographs in environmental monitoring – peak rainfall; peak discharge; lag time; base flow; and factors affecting base flow, including runoff, groundwater, and soil water

Agricultural storm simulator set up

Urban storm simulator

Vegetated land storm simulator

This is a highly practical class where the students can observe erosion, transportation and deposition in action, using our specially designed fluvial tanks.

Having created their own river networks, students will have the opportunity to place a settlement next to the river and consider how best to protect it from the risk of flood damage and erosion.

Year Groups: S4 – S6

Delivery Time: Double period (100 minutes)

Set-up Time: 50 minutes

Requirements: 

• Ideally, a school hall with plenty of floor space and seats for up to 30 students.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a deep sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• The equipment for this workshop is very heavy and the tanks do not fit into a lift, so a ground floor space is required.
• Please note that this workshop involves sand and water and can be messy – a non-carpeted floor is therefore more suitable.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.
• Could your school benefit from the use of this workshop’s leftover building sand? Please let us know!

Curriculum Links:

• National 4 Geography –
  • Physical Environments
    • Rivers and valleys
• National 5 Geography –
  • Physical Environments
    • Rivers and their valleys: identification and formation of landscape features (v-shaped valleys, waterfalls, meander, ox bow lake, levee)
• Higher Geography –
  • Global Issues
    • River basin management
      • Physical characteristics of a selected river basin
      • Need for water management
      • Selection and development of sites
      • Consequences of water control projects
  • Physical Environments
    • Hydrosphere
      • Formation of erosional and depositional features in river landscapes (v-shaped valleys, waterfalls, meander, ox bow lake)
      • Hydrological cycle within a drainage basin

River channel with delta

Hard flood defences protecting a settlement from flooding and landscape erosion

River channel with settlement

Team work to build a river channel

Plate tectonics are the driving force behind some of the Earth’s most devastating natural hazards.

Students are first introduced to the theory of plate movements, tracking them through time to watch the creation of the continents that we see today, then revealing the relationship between plate tectonics and natural hazards.

The workshop then takes a closer look at earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis, using practical activities including seismic wave modelling and simulated volcanic eruptions.

Year Groups: S1 – S5

Delivery Time: Double period (100 minutes)

Set-up Time: 30 minutes

Requirements: 

• Ideally, a school hall with seats for up to 30 students. If a school hall is not available, then this workshop can run in a classroom space as long as there is access to a nearby outdoor area where we can carry out some of the practical activities, if the weather allows.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint and speakers for playing video sound.
• Access to a deep sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• Access to the internet.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• Having investigated processes which form and shape landscapes. I can explain their impact on selected landscapes in Scotland, Europe and beyond. SOC 3-07a
• I can explain how the interaction of physical systems shaped and continue to shape the Earth’s surface by assessing their impact on contrasting landscape types. SOC 4-07a
• National 5 Geography –
  • Global Issues
    • Environmental Hazards
      • The main features of earthquakes, volcanoes and tropical storms
      • Causes of each hazard
      • Impact of each hazard on people and the landscape
      • Management – methods of prediction and planning, and strategies adopted in response to environmental hazards

Effusive volcanic eruption experiment with canister, water and vitamin C tablet

Convection current demonstration using hot water (coloured red) and cold water (coloured blue) in a tank of room temperature water

Slip – Stick fault experiment

This interactive workshop explores the story of Rare Earth Elements, including where and how we source them and the important roles they play in modern technologies.

From the indium in indium tin oxide, which puts the literal ‘touch’ in touchscreen, to the neodymium and dysprosium that allow it to vibrate when you receive a call or text; your smart phone is packed full of weird and wonderful elements – all of which have to be sourced from the Earth before making their way in to your device.

Year Groups: S1 – S3

Delivery Time: Single (50 minutes) or double (100 minutes) period

Set-up Time: 20 minutes

Requirements: 

• This session uses food products to get students thinking about mining – please inform us of any food allergies prior to our visit.
• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• I can discuss the sustainability of key natural resources and analyse the possible implications for human activity. SOC 4-08a
• I can explain how the distribution and control of important natural resources affects the international power and influences of states. SOC 4-11b
• I have developed my knowledge of the Periodic Table by considering the properties and uses of a variety of elements relative to their positions. SCN 3-15a
• I can participate in practical activities to extract useful substances from natural resources.  SCN 3-17b

Elements required to manufacture a smart phone and its parts

Elements for technology – Happy Families card game

Mineral handling collection

Cookie mining

Soils play a vital role across our planet and have major influences on human life, for example through influencing agriculture and drainage. During this workshop, students are introduced to different Scottish soil types. They will undertake experiments to investigate infiltration rates, examine soil profiles and carry out texture tests for different soil types.

Year Group: S4 – S6

Delivery Time: Double period (100 minutes)

Set-up Time: 30 minutes

Requirements: 

• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a deep sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• Please note that at the end of the workshop we will have muddy water to dispose of down an outside drain.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• Higher Geography
  • Physical Environments
    • Biosphere
      • Properties and formation processes of podzol, brown earth and gley soils
• National 5 Environmental Science
  • Earth’s Resources
    • 3. Hydrosphere
      • Definitions: infiltration, percolation, throughflow, groundwater
• Higher Environmental Science
  • Earth’s Resources
    • 2. Hydrosphere; Hydrological cycle
    • 3. Biosphere; Soils
      • Inputs; formation processes; composition; characteristics of brown earth and podzol soil profiles; commercial uses of brown earth and podzol soils

Experimenting with infiltration rates of clay, silt and sand

Looking at characteristics and taking observations on soil profiles – brown earth, gley and podzol

Soil infiltration experiment

Soil texture analysis

Minerals are the time capsules of the Earth. Not only do they provide insights into ancient landscapes and early life, they also provide us with key parts of the infrastructure of society – from mobile phones to diamond rings.

Students will use polarising microscopes to identify various minerals in specially prepared thin sections of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks, and will be introduced to the range of geological techniques used to analyse and record them.

Year Groups: S4 – S6

Delivery Time: Double period (100 minutes)

Set-up Time: 30 minutes

Requirements: 

• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• Space and sockets for plugging in 6 to 12 microscopes.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• National 5 Environmental Science –
  • Earth’s Resources
    • 2. Geosphere
      • Definitions: rock, mineral, ore
      • Relationship between rocks, minerals, and ores

Meteorite thin section PPL

Mineral handling collection

Meteorite thin section XPL

Climate is a fundamental part of the Earth’s system and impacts everyone on the planet, from making (or breaking!) the perfect holiday, to devastating entire cities and threatening entire species.

Students will be introduced to the physical aspects of Earth’s climate system and how Scotland’s climate has changed over geological time. Temperature, precipitation, and environment will all be discussed, and the rock record will be examined to yield clues about Scotland’s past.

Year Groups: S1 – S4

Delivery Time: Single (50 minutes) or double (100 minutes) period

Set-up Time: 30 minutes

Requirements:

• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a deep sink, preferably nearby.
• Access to the internet.
• The equipment for this workshop is heavy, so a ground floor space is required if there is no lift in the school.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.

Curriculum Links:

• Having investigated processes which form and shape landscapes, I can explain their impact on selected landscapes in Scotland, Europe and beyond.  SOC 3-07a
• I can investigate the relationship between climate and weather to be able to understand the causes of weather patterns within a selected climate zone. SOC 3-12a  
• I can explain some of the processes which contribute to climate change and discuss the possible impact of atmospheric change on the survival of living things. SCN 3-05b

Convection current experiment – how cold and warm water move in relation to each other

Limestone

Plate tectonics – 540mya to the present – where have the plates moved?

Sandstone

Students will have the opportunity to try out a range of field equipment to implement qualitative and quantitative sampling techniques. This workshop will focus on skills that can be taught in your school grounds or local area.

Year Groups: S4 – S6

Delivery Time: Double period (100 minutes)

Set-up Time: 1 hour

Requirements: 

• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students for the introduction to this workshop.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.
• School grounds with an open area of grassland (both mown and un-mown areas) and trees (a range of native and non-native) that can be easily accessed.

Curriculum Links:

• National 5 Environmental Science –
  • Living Environment
    • 1. Investigating Ecosystems and Biodiversity
    • 2. Interdependence
    • 3. Human Influences on biodiversity
• Higher Environmental Science
  • Living Environment
    • 1. Investigating Ecosystems and Biodiversity
    • 2. Interdependence
    • 3. Human Influences on biodiversity
• National 5 Biology
  • Life on Earth
    • Ecosystems
    • Distribution of organisms

Gathering data on abiotic factors along an interrupted belt transect

Tree beating to collect data on invertebrates in native and non-native trees

Examining invertebrates present in leaf litter

Your students will join GeoBus to examine characteristics of soils in the field, using a range of field equipment and techniques including augers, pH meters, moisture meters, and texture tests. The group will then have a chance to test the infiltration rates of the soil found in your school grounds. 

Year Groups: S5 – S6

Delivery Time: Double (100 minutes) period

Set-up Time: 45 minutes

Requirements:

• A classroom space with desks and seats for up to 30 students for the introduction to this workshop.
• A screen to connect to and display our PowerPoint.
• Access to a deep sink, preferably nearby where possible.
• Parking nearby for the GeoBus van, so we can unload and load our equipment.
• School grounds with an area of land where we have permission to collect a number of soil cores, that can be easily accessed.

Curriculum Links:

• Higher Geography
  • Physical Environments
    • Biosphere
      • Properties and formation processes of podzol, brown earth and gley soils
• Higher Environmental Science
  • Earth’s Resources
    • 3. Biosphere; Soils
      • Inputs; formation processes; composition; characteristics of brown earth and podzol soil profiles

Using an auger

Looking at colour and texture of soil

Taking measurements of soil moisture and pH