Stone Dolls

The specific landforms created by the combined weathering processes by the exogenic forces are usually challenging to explain in a way a high school student would fully understand the process of their creation. The Stone Dolls of Kuklica are an example of earth pyramids which is a popular touristic landmark in the picturesque volcanic region of Kratovo in North Macedonia. We have made a model in which we recreate the process of their creation in an amusing way. The model is made of waterproof materials: plastic, stones, sand, Styrofoam, g and glue. The whole setting is placed inside a plastic pot where the Kuklica landscape is recreated. Then the pot is filled with sand which represents the softer rocks that used to exist around the stone pyramids. The bottom of the pot is perforated but closed until the beginning of the show. So, in the original sequence the setting is very simple and unattractive, a pile of sand collected in a plastic pot, which makes the surprise effect better. The students usually expect a cat to be included in the show. But then they see a plastic bottle marked as a cloud that brings rain and another pot used for collection of the ‘eroded material’. We open the bottom of the original pot, some sand escapes in the collection pot and then it starts raining from the bottle. The muddy sand slowly washes away and goes into the collection pot. Then some stones pop up. They stay firm and don’t let the rain take them down. The rain eventually weathers all the soft rocks away, leaving behind the wonderful landscape of the Kuklica Stone Dolls.