Send to a Friend

Your First Name: Your Last Name:   Your Email:   Your Friend's Email:

Your Personal Message:

Yes, I would like to receive National Wildlife Federation emails.

Your message has been sent

Thank you for sharing this page with your friends!

Explore Sand Silt and Clay

What You Need

• Tall glass jar with lid
• Spoons or garden trowels
• Water
• Paper with pencils/markers

What You Do

• Have your child collect dirt samples from several different areas and spoon them into the jar until it is a quarter full.
• Add water until the jar is two-thirds full. Take turns shaking the jar vigorously for two minutes, then allow the contents to settle for 15-30 minutes.
• What happened? The largest (heaviest) pieces of soil will have settled to the bottom first. Smaller particles will settle on top. There will be some particles that will stay suspended in water — these are the lightest particles.
• Learn the names for these different-sized particles in our Did You Know? section!

More Observe and Explore Activities:

• Make a Daffodil Wind Sock
• Make a Polar Bear Snow Gauge
• Make a Rain Shaker