Soil Scientist

Click for salary, education, & more: Soil Scientist (científico del suelo)

Roughly once every minute in the United States, someone dies from cancer. What would you do if a cure could be found in the soil from your backyard? The key to the next life-saving biomedical discovery might be living right below your feet. In this activity, you’ll see what you can discover in your soil with a sediment shake!

STEP 1: Gather needed materials:

• clear jar with lid (like a mason jar)
• soil
• shovel
• water

STEP 2: Use the shovel to dig some soil. Make sure it is okay to take the soil from this spot! Choose a spot that will have different types of natural soil (a garden is not the best location).

STEP 3: Fill your jar about half full with soil.

STEP 4: Fill the jar with water almost to the top.

STEP 5: Put the lid on your jar and shake it well for at least 2 minutes.

STEP 6: Let your ‘sediment shake’ sit. Come back to observe every hour to see how it is changing!

STEP 7: After one day, the sediments will form layers. Go online and/or get books from the library about your local sediment types. Try to identify each layer! Draw a diagram of your sediment shake showing the layers, colors/components, and labels for each layer that you are able to identify. BONUS: Investigate to figure out WHY you have certain sediments in your local area, and how your sediments would differ from those found in a different region of the USA.

STEP 8: Share your soil science sediment shake diagram in the Student Showcase to build your resume!

STEP 9: Was there something you could not identify in your sediment shake? Get in touch with a local soil science program (many universities have them) and see if they can help – maybe you found a cancer curing component!