Plants and vegetation provide the raw materials for many consumables. For example, ethanol can be made from corn, and paper is made from wood pulp. Making paper can be a fun way to teach children how to harvest raw materials responsibly and follow the material from collection through to the final product. Children will need to gather grass and flowers to add to the paper. Combine this activity with a trip to a local paper mill if there is one nearby.
Those living near factories or mines can take advantage of field trip opportunities to see how raw materials are gathered and utilized in a real-life setting. To organize a field trip it is best to contact the human resources, community outreach or investor relations department to set an appointment. Many museums have also been established in and around mines to educate the public about geology and the mining industry. Ruggles Mine in Grafton, New Hampshire, is the oldest mica mine in the United States. Now a tourist attraction, visitors can gather their own minerals including mica and quartz.
Altering a landscape into an urban or agricultural resource is considered raw material production by the Sustainable Development Indicators Group. Families and schools can build their own gardens to best understand this use of raw materials as well as foster healthy eating habits. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations offers an excellent online guide for starting a school garden, including tips for management and sustainability. Though guidelines for a school, they can also be applied to a family garden. School groups can apply for grants through organizations such as the National Gardening Association to help finance the activity.
Facilitate a matching game where children have to identify the raw materials used to make their favorite objects. There are numerous online resources to help teachers and parents create such activities. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency offers an online game called "Raw Materials Lineup" where children match the raw material to a given list of finished products. Art supply company Crayola, LLC offers an online lesson plan called "What Came From Where?" where students work in teams to understand where a product was made and the materials used in its manufacture.