Rock Detectives

Source:

Adapted from he Isle of May National Nature Reserve,  Expedition Pack (produced by SNH)

Time

1 hour or more

You will need

• Maps of the area to be visited with geological features
• Notebooks and pencils
• cameras (optional)

Did you know?

The Isle of May National Nature Reserve in the Firth of Forth is a great place to hunt for geological evidence.  Ask for a copy of the 'Expedition Pack' if you are planning a visit.

Before the activity

Visit the Scottish Geology website (see downloads) and find out about Scotland's geological past. Find out, for example, when Scotland broke away from North America, when it crashed into England, why Scotland has fossils of creatures which lived in shallow tropical seas, and where you can find the remains of ancient volcanoes. The section Classic Sites has photographs and descriptions of the best examples of geological features found in Scotland.

Plan a route that allows the class to find many examples of geological features

The activity

Encourage the children to work out where they are on a map as you go along your route, using landscape features to help them. Describe the geological feature you are looking for, for example a fault line or a raised beach, and see who can spot it first. Divide the class into two or three teams and award points to the first team to spot a particular feature. Older children could work in teams and be given a list of features they have to find, a map and a camera. Encourage the children to make sketches and write descriptions of the features they find. A list of some of the features found in some parts of Scotland is given below:

• Sea stack, rock arch, sea cave
• Glacial scratch marks
• Tilted land
• Raised beaches
• Fault lines
• Crater or cone from ancient volcano
• Glacial erratics, glacial deposits
• Gorges and waterfalls
• Hexagonal pillars
• Different types of exposed rocks
• Fossils
• Ice carved U-shaped glens 

Suggested Follow up

Visit Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve (see downloads) renowned internationally as one of the most important sites for understanding how the landscape of Northern Britain was formed. The far northwest of Scotland is one of the oldest landscapes in Europe, the rocks here tell of ancient oceans, vast deserts and ice sheets. The story of the landscape is told using poetry, sculpture, interactive demonstrations and cartoons. 

Visit other National Nature Reserves with interesting geological features such as Staffa, the Isle of May and Beinn Eighe. 

Contact your local RIGS group for information on visiting your Regionally Important Geological Sites

Find out about the famous Scottish geologists (see the Scottish Geology website) and ask the class to write a newspaper report about one of their 'discoveries' about Scotland's geological past. They could write the article as if they were a journalist at the time of the discovery and could chose to be sceptical about it!

Downloads

• Scottish Geology Website 
• Classic geological sites in Scotland
• Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve website
• Fun geology-based activity sheets

Additional Information

• Advances series posters from SNH - Posters and teachers notes on landscapes and the natural heritage
• Landscapes fashioned by geology series - SNH Publications
• RIGS groups contact information

Curriculum Links

science - main

Age Range

2,3,4