Chocolate Chip Cookie Mining
Materials:
- At least two prepared leaders
- *Cookie mining money (enough for each student to have $19)
- *Grid paper to monitor crumbs (one sheet per student)
- Three types of Chocolate chip cookies (enough for each student to have two) -Our family, Chips Ahoy, and Chips Deluxe works well
- Toothpicks; flat and round
- Paperclips
- Pencils or pens
- Paper towel for clean-up
*Available in hard copy form in Mudd 71, or on-line at: http://www.in.gov/dnr/reclamation/downloads/CookieMining.pdf
Concepts Used:
- Definition of mining
- Economic Geology
- Importance of mining
- Processes used in mining
- Impact on the Environment from mining
Skills Emphasized:
- Geology
- Math
- Environmental Science
- Problem Solving
- Decision Making
Background:
Mining is removing something of value from the earth. Does anyone know anything that is mined? Talk about mined products (coal, iron, gold, diamonds, oil, gravel ext.) and types and locations for mining i.e. iron in Northern Minnesota and gravel around Northfield.
What happens to the area around the mine? Explain that waste rock is all of the material that is left over after you remove the stuff of economic value and that because it's not worth money it is often dumped on a waste pile away. There is a government organization called the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who makes sure people who have mines clean up after themselves -they fine people if they do not return the mined area to its original shape when they have removed all the valuable material. Why is mining good? Explain how it provides jobs and materials. What are some drawbacks of mining? Explain how there is a limited number of resources and they are "non renewable". Also explain that it can be very costly, dangerous, and destructive to the environment (air and water pollution as well as cutting up the land).
Description of activity
* Estimated prep time (before student arrival): 45min
* Estimated activity time: 20-40 min depending on complexity and number of students.
1) Give each student $19 in play money and a sheet of grid paper.
2) Allow each student to purchase one "mining property" (a cookie) from three separate brands available. The brand with the fewest chips costs $3, more chips costs $5, and the most chips costs $7.
3) Allow the students to purchase "mining tools" (flat and round toothpicks and paper clips). More than one piece of equipment may be purchased, but no tools may be shared among students. Sell a flat toothpick for $2, a round toothpick for $4, and a paper clip for $6. Sell replacement tools when necessary
4) Once all the students have purchased their property, have them measure it by placing the cookie on the grid paper and tracing it. Then have them count the number of squares that fall inside the circle (partial squares count as full squares). Tell students to record this number in the corner of the sheet.
5) Explain that the students have to work fast because labor costs a lot but that they have to be neat because they will be fined for each crumb that falls out of the circle. Tell them that each chocolate chip mined from their property will result in a $2 profit. Broken chips may be combined to form a whole chip. Consumed chips will eat into profits!
6) Do not allow students to spend more than four minutes mining. Players cannot use their fingers to hold the cookie. The only things that can touch the cookie are the mining tools and the paper on which the cookie is sitting. During the four minutes they should try to put the crumbs back in the circle; any crumbs in squares outside of the circle at the end of the four minutes cost the player one dollar per square.
7) Disperse profits for chips mined. Have students calculate their profit or loss. Pass out extra cookies for eating
8) Allow students to share their experiences with the class. Was making a profit easier or harder than they expected? How accurate is this exercise in showing the challenges of making money in the mining industry? What costs or possibilities for profits were not included in this exercise?
Review and Questions:
The game provided each player an opportunity to make the most money possible with the resources provided. Decisions were made by each player to determine which properties to buy and which piece or pieces of mining equipment should be purchased. Each player should have learned a simplified flow of an operating mine. Also, each player should have learned something about the difficulty of reclamation, especially in returning the cookie to the exact size that it was before "mining" started.
Was the cookie mining activity messy? How was the mine owner responsible for the mess?
Do you think that a real mine would produce a lot of excess material that would need to be cleaned up?
Can you think of any ways that a mine owner could be made responsible for the impact made on the environment?
Do you use anything that comes from a mine?
What is the most valuable thing you know of that can be mined?
What types of mines are in your state?
Additional Resources:
Paper on the Introduction to Mining with terminology-
http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/11/04713485/0471348511.pdf
U.S. Department of Energy Activity ideas for Elementary and Junior High students
http://www.fe.doe.gov/education/energylessons/
Alternatives for older/younger ages:
- For older students a more complex version of the game is available at: http://www.in.gov/dnr/reclamation/downloads/CookieMining.pdf
- Additionally, use and discuss more terminology such as reclamation, ore, and cost effectiveness.
- This activity is not recommended for students younger that the third grade level but could be done if the use of money was omitted and the game focused more on the definition of mining and how hard it can be.