Students learn about asphalt, surface mining at quarry

<p>Submitted</p><p>Students search through rocks at Capital Materials quarry as part of the Kids Rock program.</p>

Submitted

Students search through rocks at Capital Materials quarry as part of the Kids Rock program.

Workers who mine rock to make asphalt might say their job is sweet, but some students getting an introduction to quarries can say the same in a sugary sense.

Capital Materials Company offers a program that introduces Missouri students to the purposes and processes of quarries, and part of the introduction is a demonstration that uses the recipe for crispy rice marshmallow treats "as a hands-on learning experience of how asphalt is made," according to a news release.

The program is called Kids Rock, and it's hosted at Capital Materials' Linn Creek Quarry. During the program, coordinator Gary Wood uses crispy rice pieces as stand-ins for rocks. The melted butter and marshmallows he mixes in act like hot asphalt oil does with rock. With the food, the end result is sweet treats students get to eat; with rock, it's paved blacktop roads.

Students are bused to Linn Creek Quarry and given a Capital Materials T-shirt, hard hat and a branded bag.

In addition to how asphalt is made, students learn about other topics, including quarry safety.

Capital Materials dedicates five or six employees to putting on Kids Rock several times per year, and the company has hosted more than 500 students from Missouri schools including School of the Osage, Camdenton and Clinton.

Wood said in the news release that he receives letters from students who have visited the quarry in years past, "some of whom even tell him they want to make it their career."

Capital Materials Company is a family-owned asphalt and aggregate provider that operates across the state. Capital Materials operates under the Farmer Holding Company family of businesses.