Sasha Says volcanoes and updates on Geosites

30 April 2020

Geoeducator: So I've been working on some activities to do with volcanoes this last week. So people may be aware that we have a number of very very old volcanoes in the Waitaki Whitestone Geopark. I guess the most prominent ones will be the one at Oamaru here. So that's at the Cape. So that was around 35, 40 million years ago that that had a whole lot of activity. But we also have a number of other centres of volcanic activity around the Geopark as well. So on Kids Corner, which is a page on our website we've set up some kid friendly information about some of the volcanic history of the area, including some features that you may not know about. So there's an educational bent there. So volcanoes, are cool to to really investigate and learn about. So get on there, read that. And then we are also going to have an activity uploaded as well where you get to colour in a volcano and learn some of the various parts of the volcano, what they are called. And we're also going to have a video on there on how to make your very own volcano. So get on there. Check it out and send your photos in of volcanoes that you've made at home.

Radio Announcer: So you can actually make a volcano and have it erupt.

Geoeducator: You can make a volcano. Look, it's heaps of fun. Kids just don't tire of this because who doesn't like, you know, bubbly, foamy, mess. So you just need baking soda and a little bit of dishwashing liquid and vinegar. So you will need an adult to help you because obviously vinegar is acidic and so it can be stingy if you get it into cuts and your eyes and things. And we also added some food colouring to make some orangy read colour lava. So you combine them together and you get this foamy lava going down the side of your volcano. Might want to make it in your sandpit at home or I made mine out of a mound of dirt in the garden. And I put dinosaurs around the edge of it - so it was a lot of fun actually.

Radio Announcer: Who got more out of it, you or the kids?

Geoeducator: They actually all loved it. They all loved it. Yeah, it was pretty fun. And they all had a go - after I'd done the video they all had a go at pouring in more vinegar to see who could who could make it foam up the most.

Radio Announcer: That's so cool. And you've been adding some extra stuff to the website as well. Some more sites on the Geopark Website.

Geoeducator: That's right. So we've added on the Geosites part of our Website under 'learn', we've added some information there about the Enfield dikes so that is more volcanic activity out towards Enfield way. Go on there and have a read. And Brewery Hole, which is at Duntroon - that's got a really interesting geological as well as a social history there. So go and have a read there. And Rakis Table, which interesting enough is out near the old disused railway tunnel. You cycle through it on the Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail. Now, one of the things that's really interesting about Rakis Table is that it was used way back when, when they were trying to look at breaking a drought by seeding clouds. Now, to do this they used dynamite, incredibly enough - and it wasn't successful, but really interesting bit of information there. So get online there and have wee read there. And of course, people just need to be mindful, of course, with what we have on our website and our activities that we have - be mindful of the alert level that we're at as to whether activities are suitable or not.

Radio Announcer: Good stuff. And the Website address again?

Geoeducator: www.whitestonegeopark.nz.

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