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Article for: The Davis Enterprise
Date: November 21, 2003
Author: Mackenzie Tysell

EXPLORING SOIL ON EXPLORIT'S FREE SATURDAY

Don't wear your best duds to Explorit this Saturday. Come prepared to get down and dirty while exploring soil. Usually something we want to clean up, soil performs a lot of very important functions. Soil decomposes waste, grows food, and is a source for building materials, just to name a few.

As a complement to the exhibition, "Earth Elements: Exploring Natural Resources," Explorit will present a Family Explorations program from 1:00 - 4:30 pm investigating the components of healthy soil as well as how you can put worms to work to create nutrient-rich soil. Admission to the exhibition, open from 11:00 am - 4:30 pm, and the Family Exploration program will be free of charge thanks to a sponsorship by Davis Waste Removal.

On Saturday, become a soil chef and learn how to mix the right ingredients to make nutrient-rich soil. Soil is made up of a blend of three major components: sand, silt and clay. These particles may all seem small, but if you imagine a particle of sand is the size of a basketball, then silt would be the size of a baseball, and clay would be the size of a golf ball. Depending on what proportion of ingredients your soil has, it may dry out quickly, have poor drainage, or be bad for growing foods.

Here's a quick experiment you can do to see the ingredients in your own backyard soil. You will need a clear jar with a lid, a digging tool like a trowel, and some water. Fill your jar about 2/3 full of water and then use your trowel to fill the jar about 1/2 full with a soil sample from your yard. Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously. Let the soil components settle.

The components will settle in layers. Which layer is at the bottom? What types of particles do you find in each layer? Which layer is thickest? Depending on your answers, you may want to add sand or organic matter to even out the proportions. If the particles divide out into 40% sand, 40% silt and 20% clay, then you have "loam," which is a very good type of soil to have.

If you discover that your soil is out of balance, you might be interested in learning more about vermicomposting at Saturday's Family Exploration. Vermincomposting is the process of using worms to breakdown organic matter to produce nutrient-rich amendments, which you can mix with poor soil to make it healthier. At Explorit, you will be able to observe red worms in action and make your own worm bin to take home.

Before or after exploring soil, there will be plenty of experiments and activities to try out in the exhibit hall to get some more dirt underneath your fingernails. Make sand by rubbing two rocks together. Identify minerals by performing streak and hardness tests. Paint with colored-sand in the traditional style of Native Americans. Sort sand into various particle sizes with sieves.

Explorit has a lot in store for its free Saturday programs. Come and get hands-on with soil, just don't forget to wash your hands before you leave.


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Need plans for Thanksgiving week? Consider visiting Explorit. Explorit will be open as regular with the following exceptions: they will be closed for Thanksgiving and we be open from 1-4:30 on Nov. 28. Weekend hours will remain the same: 11:00-4:30 Saturdays and Sundays.

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Explorit Science Center is at 3141 5th Street in East Davis. The current exhibition is "Earth Elements: Discovering Natural Resources," which continues through Dec. 7. Public hours are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.explorit.org or call Explorit at (530) 756-0191.