Old Faithful
Old Faithful is a cone geyser located in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, United States. It is a highly predictable geothermal feature and has erupted predictably since the park was established in 1872.
Share some pictures or video of the famous geyser. Talk about the importance of predictability as it relates to dependability. What kind of a nickname would you give to a geyser that wasn’t reliable? Discuss what it looks like for a parent, a child, a sibling, a teammate, etc to be dependable. If each person got a nickname for their dependability – what would it be? (Don’t hand out nicknames as derogatory ones aren’t helpful.) Point out that striving to be “Old Faithful” in our promises is a good thing.
Web cam: https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mZY7uxb7Gc
Information and ways to find predicted schedule: https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/exploreoldfaithful.htm
Now create your own ‘geyser’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8AkIT0cNDE
To process this activity, ask these or similar questions:
- Did you hear of Old Faithful before this?
- How many other things/events/people do you know that is that dependable?
- Do you find yourself being more dependable in some areas than in others?
- How predictable was your homemade geyser?
- The next time you are questioning being dependable, will you remember the Old Faithful geyser (or your demo) and strive to be just as dependable?