Soil Science Students in the K-12 Classroom: A Mutually Enriching Experience.

As scientists we are often criticized for our inability to communicate our science to the general public. Our students are taught to communicate scientifically but rarely have the opportunity to explain their science to others outside of the academic community. For the past 6 years, Soil Science students from the University of Tennessee at Martin have traveled to a local elementary school to teach “Soil Differences” to a 5^th grade class. The soil science majors lead the 5^th graders in activities that explore color, texture and chemical reactivity of different soil samples collected from the region. The activities have been designed to mesh with the current 5^th grade science standards for the state of Tennessee. The UTM students gain confidence in their understanding of soils, the elementary students learn a little bit about soils and everyone ends up having a good time.