The Marion Natural History Museum afterschool group had a chance to explore the soils last Wednesday. Many thanks to soil scientist Maggie Payne of the USDA's Natural Resource and Conservation Service. We learned what makes a "good" soil and why that's important to everyone, from farming to building a house. The students had fun conducting experiments with the soils and had a chance to build their own soil profiles to take home. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Leidhold