COOL LABS: Diving into Earth’s Past : Fire History

How do we know about the earth’s past? How do lake sediments form? What can the paleo record tell us? What is a proxy? What can charcoal tell us about the environment at different time periods?

During the lab, students will be able to:

1. Interpret how charcoal amounts represent the fire history of a forest

2. Extrapolate the climate conditions associated with small/large fire events

3. Collect proxy data from various time periods

4. Graph and analyze class results

This investigation is recommended for students in grades 4 and 5.