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Pudding Planet
 Earth’s crust is divided into large plates that float on a thick layer of molten (melted) rock. What happens when these plates come in contact with one another?
What You Need
• Instant pudding mix
• Square or rectangular baking dish
• 6 cookies, such as graham wafers
What to Do
1. Make the pudding following the directions on the package.
2. Pour the pudding into the baking dish. Chill for about 15 minutes.
3. Place the cookies on top of the pudding. The cookies are the plates of the Earth’s crust. The pudding is the molten material on which these plates float.
4. Move two cookies toward one another. What happens when they meet?
5. Place two cookies side-by-side so they are touching. Move them apart from one another. What is exposed when you move the cookies apart?
6. Experiment with other ways the Earth’s plates might come in contact with one another.
7. Use the “Earth’s plates” to scoop up globs of the “molten rock” and enjoy the taste of your pudding planet.
How it Works
Earth’s plates move slowly on a layer of hot, molten rock called the mantle. Look back at the illustration on page 10. There are three ways plates can interact:
• plates can slide under one another
• plates can slide past one another
• plates can move away from one another.
Volcanoes form in places where one plate slides under the other (as in Step 4). They also form where plates move apart (as in Step 5). Here the molten rock is exposed and can come to the surface.
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