Rocks & Weathering is a great animated site produced by the BBC. The site using interactive animations to teach students all about rocks. The site illustrates and explains how sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks form. In each stage of the site, students can "create" rocks and "inspect" rocks with a virtual magnifying glass. Students "create" rocks by compacting sediment or by adding water to cool lava. After creating rocks, students can then "destroy" rocks by adding elements of weather.
Applications for Education
Rocks & Weathering looks like it could be a great site as part of an elementary school science lesson. I wouldn't use it as a replacement for all of the materials you currently use to teach about rock formation, but it certainly is worth using as a supplemental resource. The site is equally well suited to use on a touch screen/ interactive whiteboard or a standard computer screen with a mouse.
Thanks to Kelly Tenkely for sharing this great resource on her blog last month.