Michigan Science Teachers Association Conference 2018 (MSTA)

Is the soil in your schoolyard healthy? A field of fertile soil contains more microorganisms than all the humans living on Earth! Uncover the mystery of soil organisms and see what happens when we bury undies to learn about the secrets of soil biodiversity. In this session, we will review a lesson plan and activity where 100% cotton underwear is buried in the soil and after a few weeks the underwear is recovered to determine the microbial activity in the soil. The more the underwear is decomposed over the course of the experiment, the more active the soil microbial community. This lesson plan and activity not only introduce the importance of soil microbiota, but also cover the importance of soil health in feeding a growing world population. If you are looking for an exciting way to get students outside and excited about soil, this activity is captivating, fun and can be modified for all ages. And of course anything that involves underwear is going to be a hit!