Coal in the Classroom: St. Mary’s Academy

In early February, Lignite Council Director of Education and Marketing Retha Mattern, took the coal roadshow to classrooms at St. Mary’s Academy in Bismarck, ND. Two groups of middle schoolers got a hands-on lesson on the importance of coal mining and reclamation by playing in the dirt with the Cake Pan Mining exercise. During the activity, students form groups, complete a permit application, choose mining tools, separate topsoil and overburden, remove the coal and then reclaim their mines. Finally, the students complete an economic worksheet to determine profits or losses.

St. Mary's Academy students participating in Coal in the Classroom activities.