Edible Science: Soil Layers Activity

Your students will love making this educational version of the classic worms-and-dirt snack! Use this activity alongside a lesson on the layers of the soil. You may want to do it at the end of your soil unit as a special treat. This activity is very simple, so here's a quick summary of what you'll need to have on hand:

Materials:

• chocolate chips
• butterscotch chips
• chocolate pudding
• Oreo cookies
• shredded coconut
• green food coloring
• gummy worms
• clear plastic cups
• plastic spoons

How to: In each student's plastic cup, layer the food items in the following order:

1. Bottom: A handful of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips, mixed. (This bottom layer represents the bedrock.)
2. Lower-Middle: Chocolate pudding. (This lower-middle layer represents the subsoil layer.)
3. Upper-Middle: Crushed Oreo cookies. (This upper-middle layer represents the topsoil layer.)
4. Top: A couple gummy worms and a handful of green-colored coconut flakes. (These represent the organic material at the surface level.)

You can decide ahead of time what size plastic cups you'd like to use and how much of each food item the students should have (ex. one or two gummy worms). You can also add green food coloring to the coconut flakes before the project so it won't make a mess in the classroom. Be sure to find out if any of your students have food allergies or dietary restrictions before you do this activity with them.

There are a lot of ways you can modify this activity to coincide with your lesson. You can use different ingredients than the ones we chose or add labels to each soil level. Be creative, and we know your class will have fun with this one!

Did you like this project idea? Have you used this activity in your own classroom? Please share your feedback in the comments section below! And don't forget to check out the Super Teacher Worksheets Science Page for other great ideas!