STEM hands-on activity about rocks, rail, tunnel design and maths for primary school pupils.

1. Rock’n’Rail
STEM activity
Anna Fraszczyk
Mahidol University
2018

2. About me
Education:
2014 PhD in travel behaviour (Newcastle University, UK)
2005 MEng in Geomatics (Wroclaw University of Technology, Poland)
2005 Erasmus Exchange Student (Vaxjo University, Sweden)
Employment:
2017-present Lecturer/Visiting Professor (Mahidol University, TH)
2016-2017 Postdoctoral Fellow (Mahidol University, TH)
2012-2016 Research Associate (Newcastle University, UK)
2008-2011 STEM coordinator (Newcastle College, UK)
Research interests:
peoples travel choices
transport/railway education and research (soft side of transport)
transport outreach (Railway Talents Ambassador, STEM Ambassador)

3. Rock

4. 4
What is a mineral?
Natural substances that make up rocks.
Only has one substance throughout.
Or
“A solid, naturally occurring inorganic
substance”
Oxford Dictionaries, 2018,
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com
Examples:
• diamond
• gold
• silver
• copper
• ruby
What is a rock?
A substance made of two or more
minerals.
Or
“Any natural material, hard or soft (e.g.
clay), having a distinctive mineral
composition.”
Oxford Dictionaries, 2018,
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com
• Metamorphic: Marble (Marble
Temple Thailand)
• Sedimentary: Sandstone
(constructing temples, homes,
foundations, and statues)
• Igneous: Granite (countertops,
bridges, buildings)

5. 5
Examples
1 2 3
4 5
Minerals: ruby silver gold
Rocks: marble sandstone granite
Illustration: Amelia Fraszczyk, age 8
6

6. 6
Rock classifications
Rocks and minerals can be classified in many different ways:
• Color
• Texture
• Shape of grains
• Pattern of grains
• Hardness (scratch test)
• Streak (streak test)

7. 7
Geologic
map
of
Thailand
Geologic map of Thailand.
(Source: Fig. 11.24, page 101,
Geology of Thailand, 2014.
Available at:
http://www.dmr.go.th/images/ar
ticle/freetemp/Geology%20of%2
0Thailand.pdf
Accessed 13/08/2018

8. 8
Minerals in Thailand
Map showing locations of heavy
minerals, rare earth minerals and
precious metal ores (Source: Fig.
11.24, page 371, Geology of
Thailand, 2014. Available at:
http://www.dmr.go.th/images/ar
ticle/freetemp/Geology%20of%2
0Thailand.pdf
Accessed 13/08/2018

9. Rail

10. 10
What is a rail?
“A steel bar or continuous line of bars laid on the ground as one of a pair
forming a railway track”
Oxford Dictionaries, 2018, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com
Illustrations: Amelia Fraszczyk, age 8

11. 11
What is a train?
“A series of connected railway carriages or wagons moved by a locomotive
or by integral motors.”
Oxford Dictionaries, 2018, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com
Examples:
• metro,
• subway,
• skytrain,
• suspended rail,
• tram,
• passenger train,
• freight train
Illustrations: Amelia Fraszczyk, age 8

12. 12
Question:
Can a train go through a rock?
Yes or No?

13. Tunnel

14. 14Illustrations: Amelia Fraszczyk, age 8
What is a tunnel?
“An artificial underground passage, especially one built through a hill or
under a building, road, or river.
Oxford Dictionaries, 2018, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com

15. 15
Who can dig a tunnel?
• People + machines
• Animals (e.g. (1) ants, (2) moles, warms)
Illustrations: Amelia Fraszczyk, age 8
1 2

16. Cut out objects

17. 17
metro
train

18. 18
Activity equipment per group
1. Paper
2. Pencil
3. Scissors
4. Glue
5. Ruler

19. 19
Activity
1. In groups
2. Cut out and glue 2 objects
3. Measure dimensions (height + length)
4. Calculate 2 x size and 3 x size
x2 x3height
length

20. Tunnel design

21. 21
There are 4 different pieces of paper
= different rocks
basalt granite sandstone clay

22. 22
Activity
• In groups
• Cut out tunnels for your objects to fit through
• Think about shape and size
• How many transport modes do you want to fit in?

23. 23
Wrap up
• Which paper was easy/difficult to cut?
• Can your trains fit into your tunnels?

24. Contact details
Dr Anna Fraszczyk
Visiting Professor
Cluster of Logistics and Rail Engineering (CLARE)
Faculty of Engineering
Mahidol University
Thailand
anna.fra@mahidol.ac.th
anna.fraszczyk@gmail.com
LinkedIn
Updated: 13/08/2018
24