Collect samples of minerals, rocks, and fossils in your community and state.
Project Link 1 (Chapter 1, C16)
Start a mineral collection. There are many ways to get mineral
samples. You can join a mineral club if your school has one. There may also be
some collectors in your community who could help you get started. You could write
or E-mail schools and students in other parts of the country to trade minerals.
Another way is to collect local mineral samples from road cuts and stream beds.
Ask a responsible adult to help you when you collect specimens. Always ask
permission before collecting on someone else's property.
Internet Links
Finding Materials
U.S. Geological Survey
Minerals Information: Mine and Mineral Processing Plant Locations
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mapdata/
Bob's Rock Shop United States Club List
http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/clublist.html
Identifying Minerals
The Image Mineral Gallery
http://www.theimage.com/mineral/minerals1.html
Mineral Information Institute: Mineral Photographs
http://www.mii.org/mineralphotos.html
Mineral Information Institute
Common Minerals and Their Uses
http://www.mii.org/commonminerals.html
Student Resources
Mineral Collection Chart
Project Link 2 (Chapter 2, C37)
Make a rock collection. Get good, clean rocks that are freshly broken. This will
let you see what the inside of the rock looks like. Keep a numbered list of your
rocks and where they came from. Always collect safely: Wear safety goggles, heavy
gloves, and a hat. Do not collect on or under steep or overhanging rock faces.
Ask a responsible adult to go with you on rock-collecting expeditions.
Internet Links
Rock Collecting
The Franklin Institute Online Fellows: Wired@School
Rock Hounds: Rock Hound Collection Safety
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/payton/rocks/safety/
The Gem and Mineral Exploration Company
Rock Collecting Around the USA — State by State
http://www.gemandmineral.com/states.html
U.S. Geological Survey Collecting Rocks
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/collect1/collectgip.html
Internet Links
Identifying Rocks
Brooke Weston City Technology College: Rock Key
http://www.bwctc.northants.sch.uk/website/html/projects/science/ks34/rocks/key.html
The Franklin Institute Online Fellows: Wired@School
Rock Hounds: Become a Rock Expert!
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/payton/rocks/expert/index.html
Student Resources
Rock Collection Chart
Project Link 3 (Chapter 3, C73)
Find out about fossils that have been discovered in your community. If possible,
obtain examples of such fossils for your collection. Be sure to note where each
fossil was found. If you can't get examples, make drawings of your
fossils.
Internet Links
Finding Fossils
Royal Ontario Museum
Fossils! Behind the Scenes at the Museum
http://www.rom.on.ca/quiz/fossil/
U.S. Geological Survey
The Major Fossil Groups
http://geology.er.usgs.gov/paleo/groups.shtml
Discovery Channel Online
Guides: Dinosaurs/Fossils
http://www.discovery.com/guides/dinos/dinos.html
The Fossil Hunter
Fossil Collecting Sites in North America
http://www.iwaynet.net/~mperona/fossil.htm
The Fossil Hunter
An Annotated Checklist for Fossil Collecting
http://www.iwaynet.net/~mperona/chlist.htm
Student Resources
Fossil Collection Chart
Project Link 4 (Chapter 3, C79)
Walk around your community to observe natural landforms. (A landform is a feature
of Earth's surface, such as a hill, a valley, or a plain.) Make a list of the
landforms you observe. Try to identify the types of rocks that make up the
different landforms.
Internet Links
Earth/Rock Formations
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC)
U.S. State Images From 30-Second Topographic Data: 3rd Edition
http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/topo/state.shtml
Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory
Color Landform Atlas of the United States
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html
Internet Links
Making Earth Models
U.S. Geological Survey
What Do Maps Show?
http://www.usgs.gov/education/teacher/what-do-maps-show/index.html
