• Mountains have a lot to teach us about the world.Mountains image by zalisa from Fotolia.com
  
  Mountains contain some of the oldest geologic records known to man. They affect our weather, and provide a home to every type of living thing on earth that has been able to adapt to mountainous environments. Science projects on mountains can range from how they are formed or the life they support to the ways that mountains are ultimately destroyed by the most common atmospheric forces.
  
  

Types of Mountains

• How mountains are formed determines their appearance and shape.plateau de gres image by Emmanuelle Combaud from Fotolia.com
  
  A basic science project on mountains is centered around how mountains are formed and the different varieties of mountains that can be found. Demonstrate the five basic types of mountains and how each type is formed. Use charts and pictures to provide examples of different types, and where that type of mountain can observed. Display different types of rock formation associated with mountainous types, or build a small model to illustrate how plate tectonics (or plate structure) affect terrain.
  
  

How Mountains Affect Weather

• Mountains have a huge affect on weather patterns.snowy ridge image by Svetoslav Iliev from Fotolia.com
  
  Set up a small model of mountainous terrain and use a small table to create wind patterns. Sand sprinkled into the air between the fan and the mountainous terrain will have certain behaviors that can be explained using the laws of nature. More complex experiments might include how the height of mountains affect the flow of clouds or serve as a barrier between different temperate zones or climatic conditions. Be sure to include basic explanations of different weather types such as highs and lows, and how they are influenced differently.
  
  

Biology of Mountainous Terrain

• Some animals are perfectly adapted to mountainous terrain.mountain goat image by Earl Robbins from Fotolia.com
  
  Describe the types of living things found at different altitudes in mountainous terrain. Explain why these plants and animals thrive here, and give direct comparisons to similar life forms found in other types of terrain to illustrate the differences. For example, why are evergreen trees better suited to mountains than deciduous ones? Include the complete biome (a community of plants and animals characteristic of that geographic area), describing the entire food chain from the microscopic through the macroscopic and then returning again through conversion and decomposition.
  
  

How Mountains Erode

• Even mountains are worn to sand.Erosion image by Moon from Fotolia.com
  
  A clay model of a waterfall can be used to demonstrate water erosion and how it affects mountains, and a table fan pointed at a pile of dense sand is very rough comparison of how wind erosion works. These demonstrations can be combined to illustrate how erosion can be responsible for such geological features as the Grand Canyon or the plateaus of the American southwest. Similar experiments will explain the layers of sedimentary rocks found in eroded mountainsides. For display purposes, sprinkle colored sand of different grain sizes above the waterfall to demonstrate dispersion of heavier granules downstream.