During this workshop, Jaime worked with a small group of kiddos to test the dirt in our wash in attempts to make cob. She explained that cob was a mixture of clay, sand, and tiny rocks and people would use it construct buildings, often slapping it on over some sort of frame. The kids seemed excited about the idea that they could make their own structure using cob. Jaime went on to explain that they needed to find a spot in the wash that had just the right kind of dirt.
To test the dirt each kid (or group of kids) would fill a jar 1/3 full of dirt – from any spot in the wash – and then 1/3 full of water. Then they needed to let it rest to see how it separates. After the rest process, each jar should have clay, silt, and sand/fine gravel. Some of the kids were confused about how the water would help them to determine if they could use the dirt from the wash. “But it’s [the water] just going to go down into the soil.” “That’s the point.” “It’s like dirt or soil.” The final step to this process is to find the coordinates of the spot where each jar of dirt came from so they could find that same spot again if needed. Some of the kids already had an idea about what a coordinate was. “Coordinates are a location.” “Oh, are those the satellite?” “Oh, like Pokémon Go?” It was great to see the way the kids were connecting their own cultural knowledge to this work. In the wash, they debated a lot over where to get their dirt. “Jazzlyn, over here! That doesn't seem like it will turn into mud.” “I’m gonna get some from the sand pile.” After the sand was collected, Jaime helped each group to map their coordinates and write them down on each jar. Then they added water to their jars and began the resting process. I wonder if any of the spots had the right qualities for cob? And, as Molly asked, “how much of this cob stuff do we need to make a fort?” A fantastic question!
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