Cookie Mining - Climate Edition
Students mine for chocolate chips in cookies, attempting to get as many chocolate chips as possible without damaging the cookie.
This activity was adapted from the workshop "Cookie Mining" by the University of Ottawa.
Students will participate in this fun activity and learn about mining for rocks and minerals. They will also learn how mining can impact the environment and contribute to climate change. They will attempt to get as many chocolate chips as possible (i.e., minerals) while not damaging the cookie (i.e., environment).
This workshop discusses topics, which can lead to feelings of eco-anxiety among volunteers, educators and youth if not presented in a thoughtful manner. The most important things to remember are to be honest, hopeful, developmentally appropriate, and action oriented. This workshop was created with these guidelines in mind. For more details, refer to the volunteer resource, Being Conscious of Eco-Anxiety.
What You Need
Materials
- 1 graphing sheet per student with the type of land, pre- and post-sections
- 1 package of mini "Chips Ahoy" cookies per student
- 1 package of mini "Bear Paws" cookies per student
- 2 toothpicks per student
- 2 paperclips per student
- 2 large wooden picks per student
- 1 paper plate per student
- 1 paper cup per student for water
Guide:
PowerPoint:
See attached guide for alterative activity supply list for virtual learners.
Safety Notes
Ensure you are familiar with Let's Talk Science's precautions with respect to safe delivery of virtual outreach,
Check with the educator about any student allergies before completing this activity with students.
What To Do
Introduction
- Using the PowerPoint presentation, discuss the types of resources that are mined in Canada.
- Define climate change.
- Discuss how mining contributes to climate change, and how climate change can affect future mining projects.
Activity: Cookie Mining
You are going to be a miner of the precious mineral ‘chocolate chips’. You’ll have options of land/cookies to choose from and tools to use. Half of your cookies will be dry, and the other half will be wet. You cannot touch the land with your hands. Your goal is to mine as many minerals (in this case chocolate chips) as you can without destroying the environment (cookie). You will compare how easy or difficult it is to mine chocolate chips from a dry cookie compared to a wet cookie. You won’t be eating the cookies you use in this activity. You will mine both types of cookies (land) for minerals (chocolate chips) and then restore the lands once you finish mining.
Your first job is to determine what land (cookies) you want to purchase and what mining tools you will purchase based on your budget. You will wet half of them by dipping them in your paper cups filled with water (example on slide 7). You can also choose what mining tools you will purchase based on your budget.
You are going to start out with a pretend $20. Pull out your graph sheet and a pencil or pen and write $20.00 somewhere in the space beside the printed graph boxes.
Rules:
- You have $20.00 to spend (and you don't have to spend it all)
- Try to mine as many minerals/chocolate chips as you can without damaging the land/cookie
- Each full chocolate chip you mine will pay you $2.00 (partial chocolate chips can be squished together to make one)
- You can purchase land and tools as long as it is in your budget
- If a tool breaks, you can no longer use it
- Your goal: make the most money you can without too much damage to the land
Costs:
- $5 per 2 mini "Chips Ahoy"
- $7 per mini "Bear Paws"
- $4 per toothpick
- $5 per paperclip
- $6 per large wooden pick/skewer
Before you start mining, you need to measure the amount of land you have to start. Draw a circle around the cookies on the side of your worksheet that says "pre-mining land use area".
Dip half of the section of the cookie you want to make wet in your paper cup filled with water. The other half will be dry so it is easier to handle. Repeat this for all the cookies you choose to make wet.
Give the students 10 minutes to mine for their minerals.
Calculating the amount of profit:
- Count the number of full chocolate chips you mined from both the dry and wet cookies separately.
- Multiply that number by 2 (because each full chocolate chips pays you $2.00).
- Add in the amount of money that you had leftover after purchasing land and tools.
- Calculate the amount of land you damaged (instructions are on the PowerPoint).
- Calculate the total amount of profit for the day:
[number of full chips mined x 2] - [costs of land and tools] - [damage to land] = profit
Wrap - up
Discuss the following questions:
- Which land (cookie) was difficult to mine: the dry or the wet land?
- Were you able to completely restore the land? Why or why not?
- What happened to the land that was wet? Where did the additional land go?
- Do you think this might be a problem and if so, how?
- What can we do reduce the damage to the environment and withstand the effects of climate change?
Discuss possible careers related to today's workshop and what students will need (schooling, experience) to get into those careers.
Discovery
Mining the wet land was probably tougher because it was unable to keep its shape without the students probably even touching it. Similarly, climate change can damage the land making it more difficult to mine for resources there.
The dry cookie was probably damaged after they started using their tools, but the wet cookie will likely be damaged from the beginning. This shows how climate change can damage the land without humans doing anything to it yet.
Students may describe the land losing its shape and falling onto the plate. This is the process of erosion that occurs when the land and soil is too wet. The additional land or minerals that separated from the larger land or cookie will probably end up in a water source and contaminate the drinking water.
Mining is a great way for Canada and people to make money but it can damage the environment and be a threat to animals and plants (and other species) survival. This is why there is a law (the Canadian Environmental Protection Act) to help ensure the land is not damage too much when mining. Humans will need to adapt even more to the changes that occur to the land due to climate change.
Reducing the impact of mines that harvest non-renewable energy sources like coal on the environment can help decrease the effect of mining on climate change. This can include shifting to renewable energy options (e.g., wind, solar, hydro) for the long-term as Canada has been doing, having more carbon capturing and storage facilities in the mining areas, or including more waste recycling methods in the mining process.
Creating mining infrastructures that can withstand climate change effects without damaging the land is a sustainable way to tackle this problem and is becoming increasingly important. Some mines around the world have built structures to withstand the frequency of earthquakes, while others have captured excess rainwater in areas that have high precipitation for storage. Climate-testing structures before opening a mining operation can also be added to the mining approval process. Depending on the region that the mine is located in, weather patterns can be monitored to plan and develop emergency responses.
What's Happening?
Mining the wet land was probably tougher because it was unable to keep its shape without the students probably even touching it. Similarly, climate change can damage the land making it more difficult to mine for resources there.
The dry cookie was probably damaged after they started using their tools, but the wet cookie will likely be damaged from the beginning. This shows how climate change can damage the land without humans doing anything to it yet.
Students may describe the land losing its shape and falling onto the plate. This is the process of erosion that occurs when the land and soil is too wet. The additional land or minerals that separated from the larger land or cookie will probably end up in a water source and contaminate the drinking water.
Why Does It Matter?
Mining is a great way for Canada and people to make money but it can damage the environment and be a threat to animals and plants (and other species) survival. This is why there is a law (the Canadian Environmental Protection Act) to help ensure the land is not damage too much when mining. Humans will need to adapt even more to the changes that occur to the land due to climate change.
Reducing the impact of mines that harvest non-renewable energy sources like coal on the environment can help decrease the effect of mining on climate change. This can include shifting to renewable energy options (e.g., wind, solar, hydro) for the long-term as Canada has been doing, having more carbon capturing and storage facilities in the mining areas, or including more waste recycling methods in the mining process.
Creating mining infrastructures that can withstand climate change effects without damaging the land is a sustainable way to tackle this problem and is becoming increasingly important. Some mines around the world have built structures to withstand the frequency of earthquakes, while others have captured excess rainwater in areas that have high precipitation for storage. Climate-testing structures before opening a mining operation can also be added to the mining approval process. Depending on the region that the mine is located in, weather patterns can be monitored to plan and develop emergency responses.