Dig Earth Studio Education

Earth science you can actually experiment with.

Classroom-ready Earth science, geography and maths activity packs and teaching resources built around the free interactive experiments in the Dig Earth Studio Lab. Students predict, experiment, observe and explain instead of simply looking up the right answer.

Earth science teaching resources

Activity packs

Complete classroom investigations built around free Dig Earth Studio interactives across Earth science, geography and maths. Each package includes a Student Activity Pack, Answer Key and Teacher Guide.

Climate science classroom activity

Available now

Climate Machine — Activity Pack

Predict it. Test it. Explain it.

7 activities + 1 quiz 12-page Student Pack Answer Key 6-page Teacher Guide Greenhouse effect Albedo + feedbacks Secondary / middle school

Price

€4.99 excl. VAT

Secure Stripe checkout is available. VAT is calculated during checkout and download links are provided after payment.

A complete climate science investigation.

This ready-to-use classroom activity is built around the free Dig Earth Studio Climate Machine.

Students do not just read about the climate system. They change climate controls themselves, make predictions, test ideas and use the model outputs as scientific evidence.

The activities explore greenhouse warming, albedo, ice–albedo feedback, vegetation, volcanic cooling, orbital influences and interactions between different parts of the climate system.

What teachers receive

12-page Student Activity Pack Seven investigations with predictions, observations, explanations, an independent experiment and a final Climate Detective quiz.

Answer Key Expected answers, scientific reasoning, acceptable alternatives and guidance for open-ended questions.

6-page Teacher Guide Climate science background, lesson guidance, model controls, outputs and important limitations.

Interactive Climate Machine Free browser-based experiment used throughout the activities. No student account or software installation required.

The seven climate activities

Turn up the greenhouse effect

Increase atmospheric CO₂ and investigate changes in temperature, ice cover, albedo and absorbed solar energy.

Change the planet's albedo

Explore how surface reflectivity changes the amount of solar energy Earth absorbs.

Follow the ice–albedo feedback

Trace a positive climate feedback and explain how changing ice cover can amplify an initial climate change.

Two controls, one climate

Compare different climate pathways and discover why similar global temperatures do not necessarily mean identical climate states.

Volcanic shock

Trigger a volcanic event and investigate short-term aerosol cooling and recovery.

Climate Mystery

Use orbital geometry and seasonal sunlight to identify what is driving a climate scenario.

Design your own climate experiment

Create a scientific question, choose a variable, make a prediction, test it and explain the evidence.

✓

Climate Detective quiz

Finish by interpreting climate relationships rather than simply recalling definitions.

For teachers

Low preparation

Print or distribute the Student Activity Pack, open the Climate Machine and start. No specialist software or student accounts are needed.

Climate background included

The Teacher Guide includes a compact climate primer covering energy balance, greenhouse warming, albedo, forcings, feedbacks and climate timescales.

Guidance, not just answers

The Answer Key explains expected reasoning, acceptable alternatives and common misconceptions.

The scientific method students keep using Predict → Test → Observe → Explain

A teaching model, not a forecast.

The Climate Machine is a simplified conceptual climate model designed to make relationships between climate processes visible. It is not intended to reproduce the full Earth system or predict future climate conditions.

Designed for: Secondary / middle-school Earth science, climate science and geography.
Format: Printable A4 PDFs + browser-based Climate Machine.
Preparation: Print or distribute the pack and open the Climate Machine in a browser.

Seismology classroom activity

Available now

Earthquake Detective — Activity Pack

Find it. Measure it. Explain it.

12-page Student Pack Answer Key 6-page Teacher Guide P & S waves Epicenter + depth Secondary / middle school

Price

€4.99 excl. VAT

Secure Stripe checkout is available. VAT is calculated during checkout and download links are provided after payment.

A complete seismology investigation.

Earthquake Detective turns seismic-wave timing into an evidence-based classroom investigation.

Students identify P- and S-wave arrivals, calculate P–S gaps, estimate source distance, discover why deep earthquakes need a depth correction before their distances can be used on a map and use several stations to estimate an epicenter.

Later activities introduce overlapping arrivals, measurement uncertainty, site response and the difference between earthquake magnitude and the amplitude recorded at one station.

What teachers receive

12-page Student Activity Pack Guided investigations, practical arrival-picking tasks, depth geometry, site response, magnitude comparisons, a final case and quiz.

Answer Key Reference arrival picks, calculations, expected observations, acceptable uncertainty and guidance for open-ended explanations.

6-page Teacher Guide Core seismology background, lesson guidance, common misconceptions, model assumptions and classroom interpretation notes.

Interactive Earthquake Detective Free browser-based seismology experiment used throughout the activities. No student account or software installation required.

What students investigate

Meet P and S waves

Compare the two main body-wave types and explain why P waves normally reach a station first.

Pick arrival times

Identify the onset of P and S phases without confusing the largest peak with the arrival.

Locate a first earthquake

Use Scenario A to turn P–S timing into source distance and combine several station circles.

Discover why depth matters

Investigate why raw distance circles can fail when the earthquake begins below the surface.

Epicenter and hypocenter

Use right-triangle geometry to convert station-to-hypocenter distance into a horizontal map distance.

Solve a deeper case

Apply the full method more independently using a deeper earthquake scenario.

Overlapping P and S arrivals

Work with a nearby source where the S phase begins while P-wave motion is still visible.

Site response and magnitude

Compare bedrock, firm ground and soft sediment, then separate recorded amplitude from earthquake magnitude.

✓

Final earthquake case + quiz

Combine arrival picking, distance, depth and epicenter estimation in a final investigation, then check the main concepts.

For teachers

Practical seismology

Students do more than memorize wave definitions. They read seismograms and turn measurements into evidence about earthquake location.

Uncertainty is built in

Slightly different reasonable arrival picks are expected, making measurement uncertainty part of the investigation rather than something to hide.

Misconceptions addressed

The package explicitly tackles peak picking, epicenter versus hypocenter, depth geometry, site amplification and magnitude versus amplitude.

The investigation chain Observe → Measure → Locate → Explain

A simplified teaching model.

Earthquake Detective uses approximate constant seismic-wave velocities and straight-line geometry so students can focus on timing, distance and depth. Real earthquake-location systems use many stations and more detailed seismic velocity models.

Designed for: Secondary / middle-school Earth science, geology, geography and STEM.
Format: Printable A4 PDFs + browser-based Earthquake Detective.
Preparation: Print or distribute the pack and open Earthquake Detective in a browser.

Volcanology classroom activity

Available now

Volcano Lab — Activity Pack

Build it. Erupt it. Explain it.

12-page Student Pack Answer Key 6-page Teacher Guide Silica + viscosity Gas + pressure Eruption styles + settings Secondary / middle school

Price

€4.99 excl. VAT

Secure Stripe checkout is available. VAT is calculated during checkout and download links are provided after payment.

A complete volcanology investigation.

Volcano Lab lets students build volcanic systems by changing silica content, dissolved volatiles, temperature, crystal content and conduit openness.

Students investigate how those controls influence magma viscosity, gas escape and pressure before combining the evidence to explain different eruption styles.

The later activities connect eruption behaviour with typical volcanic landforms and geological settings, including hotspots, spreading ridges, subduction zones and lava-dome systems.

What teachers receive

12-page Student Activity Pack Controlled investigations, eruption challenges, tectonic-setting comparisons, an independent Volcano Unknown case and a final quiz.

Answer Key Reference settings, expected model outcomes, scientific reasoning and guidance where more than one student solution is valid.

6-page Teacher Guide Core volcanology background, lesson sequence, common misconceptions, model relationships and classroom guidance.

Interactive Volcano Lab Free browser-based volcano experiment used throughout the activities. No student account or software installation required.

What students investigate

What controls viscosity?

Change silica, temperature, crystals and dissolved volatiles one at a time and identify their effects on magma viscosity.

Can gas escape?

Test conduit openness and magma viscosity to see why some volcanic systems degas more easily than others.

Build pressure

Explore how volatile supply, gas escape and magma properties combine to change pressure and eruption behaviour.

Eruption hunt

Build all six modeled eruption styles without simply pushing every control to an extreme.

Hotspot and shield volcano

Investigate hot, fluid basaltic magma and explain why repeated lava flows can build a broad shield volcano.

Spreading ridge

Compare basaltic ridge volcanism with hotspot volcanism and explain why similar magma does not always build the same landform.

Subduction volcano

Compare a subduction-arc system with a hotspot and use multiple model outputs to explain greater explosive potential.

Dome builder

Investigate very viscous magma, restricted gas escape and why lava can remain close to the vent.

✓

Volcano Unknown + final quiz

Reconstruct an unknown volcanic system from evidence, then apply the main relationships in the final Volcano Lab quiz.

For teachers

Controlled experiments first

Students isolate one variable at a time before combining controls, making cause and effect easier to discuss and assess.

System thinking

The activities separate immediate eruption style, typical long-term volcanic landform and the broader geological setting associated with the magma system.

Reasoning over one perfect setting

Several challenges allow more than one valid combination. Students are assessed on whether their model evidence supports the explanation.

The main teaching chain Magma properties → Viscosity → Gas escape → Pressure → Eruption

A simplified volcanic-system model.

Volcano Lab is designed to make relationships visible, not to reproduce every process inside a real volcano. Conduit openness also affects gas escape directly, and volatile supply contributes directly to pressure. Geological-setting interpretations are presented as typical associations rather than certain diagnoses.

Designed for: Secondary / middle-school Earth science, geology, geography and STEM.
Format: Printable A4 PDFs + browser-based Volcano Lab.
Preparation: Print or distribute the pack and open Volcano Lab in a browser.

Hydrology + flood resilience classroom activity

Available now

Flood Resilience Lab — Activity Pack

Make it rain. Reduce the risk. Explain why.

12-page Student Pack Answer Key 7-page Teacher Guide Runoff + hydrographs Urbanisation Flood resilience Secondary / middle school

Price

€4.99 excl. VAT

Secure Stripe checkout is available. VAT is calculated during checkout and download links are provided after payment.

A complete hydrology and flood-resilience investigation.

Flood Resilience Lab lets students change rainfall intensity, storm duration, soil saturation and land cover, then observe how a catchment responds.

Students use peak river flow, time to peak, rainfall becoming runoff, highest river level and flooded area as evidence. They also read the rainfall budget and hydrograph to explain why apparently similar storms can produce very different flood responses.

Later activities move from understanding flood generation to testing resilience. Students compare woodland, urban greening, green roofs, detention storage, floodplain reconnection and channel widening before designing a strategy to protect the town.

What teachers receive

12-page Student Activity Pack Controlled investigations, runoff and rainfall-budget tasks, hydrograph interpretation, flood-threshold work, resilience comparisons and a final town-protection challenge.

Answer Key Expected model outputs, reference values, scientific explanations, comparison guidance and acceptable evidence-based alternatives.

7-page Teacher Guide Hydrology background, lesson sequence, hydrograph guidance, resilience mechanisms, misconceptions, assessment ideas and model limitations.

Interactive Flood Resilience Lab Free browser-based catchment experiment used throughout the activities. No student account or software installation required.

What students investigate

Where does the rain go?

Use the rainfall budget to distinguish rapid runoff, water infiltrated or held by land and rainfall captured before runoff forms.

Build a flood

Change rainfall intensity while holding other controls constant, then compare runoff, peak flow, river level and flooding.

Does storm duration matter?

Compare short, medium and long storms and explain why more total rainfall does not translate into the same proportional increase in peak discharge.

Does yesterday's rain matter?

Keep the storm identical but change antecedent soil saturation to test how catchment storage affects rapid runoff and flood response.

Urbanisation experiment

Change only land cover and investigate how natural, mixed and urban surfaces affect runoff, river flow and response time.

Read the hydrograph

Identify peak river flow, time to peak and the bank-full threshold, then connect threshold crossing with flooding in the town reach.

Find the flood threshold

Test combinations systematically to find the mildest conditions that push the river above the modelled bank-full threshold.

Test resilience measures

Compare interventions using before-and-after evidence for peak flow, time to peak, river level and flooded area.

Match measures to mechanisms

Separate measures that change infiltration, interception, temporary storage, floodplain storage or channel capacity.

Design a resilience strategy

Choose a combination of measures, predict how each should work and justify the design before testing it.

✓

Protect the Town challenge

Use no more than two resilience measures to keep a fixed flood-producing storm below bank-full, then defend the result with numerical evidence.

For teachers

Controlled catchment experiments

Students change one storm or catchment variable at a time before moving on to resilience design, keeping cause-and-effect reasoning visible.

Hydrograph skills built in

Peak discharge, time to peak and channel capacity are used as evidence rather than introduced as isolated vocabulary.

Resilience mechanisms stay distinct

The pack separates reducing runoff, slowing transfer, temporary storage, floodplain storage and increasing channel capacity so students can explain why different measures produce different outcomes.

The catchment reasoning chain Storm → Runoff → River response → Flood risk → Resilience

A simplified catchment model, not a flood forecast.

Flood Resilience Lab is designed to make relationships between rainfall, catchment condition, runoff, river response and flood resilience visible. The numerical outputs belong to the teaching model and should not be used to predict flooding at a real location.

Designed for: Secondary / middle-school Earth science, geography, hydrology, natural hazards and STEM.
Format: Printable A4 PDFs + browser-based Flood Resilience Lab.
Preparation: Print or distribute the pack and open Flood Resilience Lab in a browser.

Geography + maths classroom activity

Available now

Coastline Paradox — Activity Pack

Measure it. Compare it. Explain it.

10-page Student Pack Answer Key 5-page Teacher Guide Scale + resolution Fractal dimension Geography + maths 45–60 minutes Secondary / middle school

Price

€3.49 excl. VAT

Secure Stripe checkout is available. VAT is calculated during checkout and download links are provided after payment.

A complete investigation of scale, measurement and fractal geometry.

Coastline Paradox asks students to measure the same model coastline with different ruler sizes and explain why the answer changes even though the coastline itself stays fixed.

Students compare Smooth, Rugged and Very rugged coasts, quantify scale sensitivity and use evidence from the interactive to connect measurement scale with map resolution and coastline complexity.

A maths extension introduces the power-law relationship between ruler size and measured length, including an estimated fractal dimension and optional log–log interpretation for stronger groups.

What teachers receive

10-page Student Activity Pack Orientation, fair-test guidance, ruler-size and coastline-roughness investigations, percentage comparison, fractal dimension, real-world application, an evidence-based claim test and final quiz.

Answer Key Expected patterns, calculations, marking guidance, misconceptions, model interpretation and answers for the final quiz.

5-page Teacher Guide A 45–60 minute lesson sequence, concept background, controlled-comparison guidance, maths extension, assessment ideas and model limitations.

Interactive Coastline Paradox Free browser-based experiment used throughout the activities. No student account or software installation required.

What students investigate

Why the ruler changes the answer

Compare large and small divider steps and explain why finer measurement scales usually produce a longer coastline measurement.

Measure the same coast fairly

Identify controlled variables and keep coastline roughness fixed while changing ruler size.

Change the ruler

Measure the Rugged coast with 200, 100, 50, 25 and 10 km rulers, then describe the scale-length pattern.

Change coastline roughness

Compare Smooth, Rugged and Very rugged coastlines using the same ruler sizes and explain why roughness changes scale sensitivity.

Quantify scale sensitivity

Calculate the percentage increase from the 200 km measurement to the 10 km measurement and compare the three coast types.

From scale to fractal dimension

Record estimated fractal dimensions and connect a larger value with stronger scale-dependent geometric complexity in the teaching model.

Maps, resolution and real coastlines

Apply the idea to atlases, satellite resolution and published coastline values that use different scales or conventions.

Test a claim with your own data

Use exact ruler halvings and numerical evidence to decide whether equal reductions in scale add equal amounts of measured coastline.

✓

Coastline Paradox quiz

Finish by applying scale, roughness, resolution, fractal-dimension and fair-comparison ideas without simply recalling definitions.

For teachers

Geography and maths together

The core investigation works as a geography lesson on scale and resolution, while the fractal-dimension and log-scale material can extend stronger maths groups.

Controlled comparison built in

Students change one variable at a time, making the pack useful for teaching fair tests as well as measurement scale.

Real-world interpretation

Students learn why two published coastline lengths can differ without either automatically being wrong, and why resolution must match the purpose of a measurement.

The investigation chain Observe → Measure → Compare → Explain

A scale-dependent teaching model.

The model coastline contains detail at several scales so students can see the coastline paradox clearly. Real coastlines are dynamic and have physical limits, so the activity should not be interpreted as saying that a useful real-world coastline length grows without limit.

Designed for: Secondary / middle-school geography, maths, Earth science and STEM.
Format: Printable A4 PDFs + browser-based Coastline Paradox.
Timing: About 45–60 minutes for the full investigation.
Preparation: Print or distribute the pack and open Coastline Paradox in a browser.

All five Education packages use the same compact format: Student Activity Pack + Answer Key + Teacher Guide, supported by a free Dig Earth Studio interactive. More Earth science investigations can be added to the catalogue later without changing the checkout structure.

Your pack stays up to date

Free updates for 12 months.

If an Activity Pack is improved or revised within 12 months of your purchase, you’ll receive the updated version at no extra cost. This is included with the original purchase and is not a subscription.

Help shape what comes next

Have an experiment idea?

If there is an Earth science topic you wish students could explore interactively, send it my way. Ideas can inspire future Dig Earth Studio experiments, or we can discuss a sponsored or custom project when you need something more specific.

Suggest

Suggest an experiment

Have a topic, classroom problem or Earth science process you would like students to investigate? Send the idea for consideration. If Dig Earth Studio develops it as a public experiment, it can become part of the normal Lab and Education catalogue.

Send an experiment idea

Sponsor

Sponsor an experiment

Need a particular experiment for your teaching, but think it could also help other classrooms? Teachers, schools and educational organisations can help shape and fund a new Dig Earth Studio experiment. You receive the completed resource, while Dig Earth Studio may later publish it in the public catalogue.

Enquire about sponsorship

Commission

Commission a custom experiment

Need an interactive Earth science resource built around a specific school, course, museum, organisation or project? Custom experiments and supporting classroom materials can be developed to a defined brief. Exclusive use can also be discussed where it is important to the project.

Discuss a custom project

Suggestions are welcome, but submitting an idea does not guarantee development and does not create confidentiality, compensation or ownership obligations. Sponsored and custom projects are agreed separately before development begins.

Help us improve

Questions, feedback or requests?

Found an error, spotted something that could be clearer, or have an idea for improving an experiment or Activity Pack? We’d love to hear from you.

Feedback from students, teachers and other educators is especially valuable to us. It helps us improve the science, instructions and classroom experience.

Looking for an Activity Pack in another language? Get in touch and we’ll see what may be possible.

Prefer email? Write to hello@digearthstudio.com .

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Interactive Earth science learning

More than a worksheet.

Dig Earth Studio teaching resources combine classroom activities with interactive Earth science, geography and maths experiments, helping students investigate relationships instead of only memorizing facts.

Understand it

Introduce the Earth science concepts students need without burying them in textbook language.

Experiment with it

Change variables in interactive models, observe the response and collect evidence.

Think like a scientist

Predict, test, compare and explain instead of simply memorizing the correct answer.