Focus on moving slowly and allowing students to notice details and ask questions about the images. It's not about guessing or jumping to hypotheses! It's about wondering. (I recommend setting the Google Slides to *fullscreen* first!)
⚠️ Spoilers! Click for the explanation.
This is a Nevada desert called Yucca Flat, aka The Most Cratered Landscape on Earth! The craters are from nuclear tests conducted by the United States. You can see how these tests changed the landscape during the 1950s and ’60s. The largest of the craters is called The Sedan Crater. It was created in 1962 when a 104-kiloton nuclear device was detonated underground. Above ground nuclear testing had become illegal, so most of these craters are from underground explosions. The Sedan crater is huge! It’s 1,280 feet wide and 320 feet deep. This particular test was to determine if nuclear devices could be used to speed up the excavation of projects such as canals and quarries. Since this test went on to contaminate more US residents than any other test, we do not use nukes in construction projects. Original images from USGS.gov
