Middle School science students took to the Innovation Lab this past week to wrap up an Earth Science project by creating persuasive presentations!

Each student was assigned a famous rock formation to research. They were to find information which would help convince people to visit their specific formation. Once students completed their research, they had the opportunity to choose how they would like to present the information using our new Media Lab resources.

Students had the option to utilize our green screen to create a video pitch with their rock formation as the background image. This method, if chosen, gave students a taste of public speaking and engaging with an “audience” in front of their formation!

Another creative option available to students who might not have wanted to be on screen was to create a stop motion video. This option gave them the opportunity to build a model of their formation and interact with LEGO characters as they shared their research.

And for those who have more of a graphic design bent, students had the option to create a Padlet featuring their rock formation. Padlet is an application where students can create an online bulletin board that displays information in the form of a flyer or poster board. This required an artistic eye and gave our Middle Schoolers a taste of putting together a “read-only” presentation.

Each of these methods allowed our Middle School students to take their scientific knowledge, process it, and then creatively express it in a way that worked with their interests and skills. It allowed them to continue building the context needed around their subject and gave them a glimpse of how facts and figures can be shared with a broader audience through media!

This is a culminating lesson for these earth scientists as they finish their study of rocks and minerals. We’re thankful for the opportunity to step outside of the science lab and into the media lab to creatively share with others about what we’ve learned!