Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
Chris Johnson, Geological Engineer at Maptek, shared her passion for geology with 100 fourth grade students at Academy of Charter Schools in Westminster, Colorado.
Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock types were discussed, as well as mineral identification techniques such as colour, taste, and cleavage. Geology was tied to biology (fossils), chemistry (supersaturation and crystal formation), astronomy (meteors) and physics (optics).
Samples on hand for investigation included fossils, crystals and fluorescent rocks. Students created their own sedimentary rocks, and explored a pile of sand with a magnet for meteor fragments.
Each student left with their hand-crafted sedimentary rock, an amethyst crystal, a nickel ore sample, an example of refined nickel, a small piece of potash, and a magnet for exploring playground dirt for those elusive pieces of meteor dust! They also took home a recipe for growing their own sugar crystals.
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