Unit 5E, The Solid Earth Unit Project: Sampling the Solid Earth Collect samples of minerals, rocks, and fossils in your community and state. Project Link 1 (Chapter 1, p. E16) 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 Mundo de ámbar http://www.ambar.com/ Student Resources Mineral Collection Chart Cuadro para la colección de minerales Project Link 2 (Chapter 2, p. E37) 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.brookeweston.org/html/schwork/sciprojects/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 Cuadro para la colección de rocas Project Link 3 (Chapter 3, p. E73) 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 U.S. Geological Survey The Major Fossil Groups http://geology.er.usgs.gov/paleo/groups.shtml Student Resources Fossil Collection Chart Cuadro para la colección de fósiles Project Link 4 (Chapter 3, p. E79) 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