Soil Tent Information

3 Earth Around Us soil tent panels with student artwork depicting soils of three ecosystems (forest, meadow and wetland)

The Earth Around Us soil tent is available to schools and community groups to encourage exploration of soils through science and art through an interactive pop-up tent and supplemental materials.

Implementation Guide

K–5 Soil Tent Implementation Guide (pdf)

Materials Provided with the Soil Tent

The Soil Tent is a 10x10-foot pop-up tent with soil mural panels that hang on the sides of the pop-up to simulate going underground into the soil. Other materials with the tent include:

  • Samples of sand, silt, and clay

  • Soil auger

  • Soil corer

  • Small shovel

  • Plastic containers for soil samples

  • GLOBE soil color books (5)

  • Screens with three mesh sizes (6 sets)

  • Rulers and magnifying lenses

  • Carpet tape

  • “Dirt on Soil” binder — extra soil activities and content resources

Reserve a Soil Tent

Interested in having the Soil Tent visit your school or community group? Contact the Earth Around Us Tent Program Coordinator, Beth Young, Beth.Young@unh.edu. 

Please note: Beth is able to travel approximately 30 miles from Durham, NH, to deliver the tent. Contact her to coordinate.

Community Resources

a young student uses a soil color chart to observe the color of a soil sample a soil sample is collected using a soil corer tool a young student uses a microscope to get a closer look at a soil sample a student holds up a plant with soil and roots