Sixth graders recently wrapped up their months-long study of volcanoes around the world, which kicked off with an investigation of the powerful outcomes of Earth's shifting tectonic plates (including volcanic eruptions), then moved on to hands-on labs and a research project focused on a volcano of their choosing, including the likes of the Yellowstone Caldera in Wyoming, Mount Fuji in Japan, Kawah Ijen in Indonesia.

Students' culminating project had two components:

• A realistic diorama created by 3D modeling their volcano in TouchTerrain—an application for printing terrain models—and using paint, moss, and other supplies to represent the natural environment (one group used deconstructed cotton balls to represent fluffy snow around their volcano!). 
• A presentation sharing fun facts and research findings, including the history of eruptions, the type of lava, and other context, such as indigenous legends about their volcano

Brava, Tigers!