Rocks & Minerals May Be Ugly on the Outside but Beautiful Inside the Rock

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Carnelian Geode with geode inside

It’s easy to pass by rocks and minerals while walking around but you never know what is hiding inside. Out in nature, rocks and minerals often look drab and dingy because of weather conditions that wear away sharp points, dull the vibrant colors, and cause cracks in the surface of the samples. Although, it is still beautiful inside the rock.

Carnelian is one mineral in particular that looks rather boring on the outside because of this weathering but when you break it open to see a fresh surface, you can see vibrant orange colors and sometimes, a hidden surprise.

The Effects of Weather on Rocks and Minerals

Rain, wind, snow, ice, heat, and cold all affect the nature and appearance of the Earth’s exposed rocks and minerals.  Rocks that are out in the open will change the way they look due to repeated exposure to the weather over a long period of time.  Hot summers and cold winters will make the rocks expand and contract which can cause cracks and flakes in the surface. The wind, rain, snow, and ice can change the color of a rock from vibrant to dull. All of these processes can also wear away crystal surfaces and change the shape of a sample as well.

When you come upon a rock or mineral and want to get a good look at it, you will need to use a rock hammer to break the rock and collect a small piece.  Look at the fresh surface exposed by the break to the weather to see the true characteristics of the rock.

Hidden Geodes Are Beautiful Inside the Rock

The carnelian sample pictured is a perfect example of a mineral that looks dull and drab on the outside (top picture above) due to weathering processes. However, when the sample broke, we found that it was actually a small geode with quartz crystals lining an open space on the inside (bottom picture above). Look closely at the picture on the bottom, and you can see a beautiful, orange mineral that surrounds the geode center of clear quartz crystals. Carnelian is a natural orangish-red variety of the mineral quartz but not all samples have a geode center. You can learn more about Carnelian and its properties here.

So the next time you are outside, take a minute to look at the rocks and minerals around you. Just because they may be a dull gray or brown outside, does not mean that there isn’t something fabulous inside waiting to be discovered!

Use Rock Walks to Connect with Your Kids and Science

Rock WalksLooking for some fun time with the kids away from the television, phones and video games?

Try a “Rock Walk!”

Sure, some people may call them nature walks but here at Mini Me Geology, every walk is a rock walk because we are always on the lookout for great rock or mineral samples everywhere we go.

No matter where you live, you can find at least a little nature somewhere nearby. Even in bustling cities, there are parks with grass, trees, and rocks all around. Parks, trails, mountains, and beaches are just a few of the great places you can take a Rock Walk with your kids. You can have fun spending time together while you are getting exercise and learning about nature. Once you find a great place to walk, let you kids explore as you go to see how many rocks and minerals they can find. Take along zip bags to keep their favorite samples for their collections.

But there are no rocks around us!?!

Yes, I get that not every town has great rock outcrops or pebble-filled rivers to explore, but you can at least find the building blocks of rocks. For example, we are located on the coast of South Carolina. If you have ever been here, you know that there are no rock outcrops. But we do have great trails and beaches where we can find sand, which is the building block of sandstone and quartzite, silt which is the building block of siltstone and clay which may someday become shale or slate.

When you get home with your zip bag of goodies, you can help your kids break open the rocks to see the inside. Usually, a fresh surface will show you the features, colors and textures of the rock better than a dull, weathered surface that was subjected to wind and rain for years. Always be careful when you crack a rock sample. Wear safety goggles and wrap your rock in a towel before you hit it with a hammer. Before you give your kids the cracked sample, check for sharp edges. Rocks with hard minerals, such as quartz, may have sharp edges. You can easily file or sand the edges to make them smooth.

And, okay, if you absolutely must take your phones with you, use the camera to take some pictures of the samples you find and send them to us either here on the blog or on our Facebook page!

If you need help identifying your samples, download our free Rock and Mineral Identification Flow Charts or post your pictures and we will help you out.

Happy Rock Walking!

Use these cool new tools to discover the name of your mineral!

Accessories Kit Blog Image_August 21 2016

As someone who loves rocks and minerals, finding a new sample is super exciting. Geologists use some very basic tools to help them determine the name of a rock or a mineral. Identifying a sample starts with discovering the names of the mineral or minerals, in the case of rocks.

The tests that geologist use for minerals include:

Examination: Use a hand magnifier to determine luster, cleavage, shape and color of a sample. A rock hammer is sometimes helpful in determining cleavage and color if you don’t mind breaking your sample.

Hardness: Use the Mohs Hardness Scale, old pre-1982 pennies, paper clips, glass plates, and your own fingernail to determine the hardness of your sample.

Streak: Use white and black streak plates to determine the streak color (the color of a mineral powder) to help make an identification.

Fizz Test: Use fresh lemon juice or vinegar on a fresh surface of your sample. Hydrochloric acid is the most common acid used by geologist but it is not easy to purchase and lemon juice and vinegar are a better choice for children. Since lemon juice and vinegar are a weaker acid, use a paper clip to scratch the surface of the sample to removed any weathered outer layer. The lemon juice or vinegar will react best on a fresh sample area. Remember, if your sample fizzes, it is made of calcite!

Mini Me Geology’s new Rock and Mineral Testing Kit has everything you need to get started with identifying your samples.

Each Kit Includes:

      • Mini Me Geology Hand Lens with 3x and 6x magnification helps you see your samples closely,
      • Pre-1982 age penny,
      • Large metal paperclip,
      • Glass plate,
      • White streak plate,
      • Black streak plate,
      • Information cards that teach you about the Mohs Hardness Scale and how to perform each test. These cards include instructions for hardness testing, explain how to perform the streak test and how to focus your new hand lens so you can see the details of your rocks and minerals.

As you gather your data from testing each sample, a flow chart is a helpful tool to find the final identity. Mini Me Geology has free basic identification flow charts that you can download and print. For advanced studies, we also offer identification posters which explain the properties 10 of the most popular minerals. We also have posters for igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks.

If you need help testing your samples, you can always contact us and our geologist will help you!

Introducing Our Newest Addition to the Mineral Family: Carnelian

Carnelian w Text LongWe are excited to announce that we have a new member of the Mini Me Geology mineral family and its name is Carnelian. Carnelian is a brownish red to orange variety of the mineral Chalcedony (which is a form of quartz). The color of the stone can vary within each sample from pale yellow and orange to darker orange and reddish brown in different areas.

Carnelian is a popular gemstone for jewelry and collecting. Carnelian has a hardness of 6.5 to 7, no cleavage, a white streak and a waxy to resinous luster. Visit Mini Me Geology today and get your own sample of Carnelian.

Petrified Wood has arrived!

Mini Me Geology is excited to announce the newest addition to our family of rocks, minerals and fossils:  PETRIFIED WOOD!

Petrified wood is a fossil that forms when sediment buries and protects plant material from decay. Groundwater rich in dissolved solids such as silica and calcium carbonate flows through the sediment and replaces the original plant material. The mineral-rich water replaces the plant material with quartz (silica), calcite, pyrite or opal among others. The result is a fossil of the original plant material. Because the plant material is replaced, the fossil often preserves details of the bark, wood and cellular structures.

Our petrified wood samples are introductory priced at $3.00 through January 25, 2015 so grab your samples today!

Use a Rock and Mineral Kit to Teach Your Kids about Science

Rock and mineral kits are not only a fun toy for kids, they are a great learning tool as well. Geology is a fantastic science for kids even at a young age because you can tailor the information and experiments to any age. Rocks and minerals have beautiful colors, neat shapes, and interesting properties that are fun to study for kids and adults.

Here are a few tips on how to use your rock and mineral kit and family time together to help your child have fun with science!

  1. Provide children with simple rock and minerals kits that you can use together. Choose products geared toward their age group to keep their interest. Working with the kit together allows you time to show your kids why you think science is important and fun. Mini Me Geology has kits geared for ages six through adult.
  2. Help your kids love science by looking for rock & mineral kits that will coordinate with school science projects and topics.
  3. Make learning science fun by showing children how science relates to their daily activities such as baking or the weather. Many of Mini Me Geology’s experiment kits are a great way to bridge learning with real-life experience.
  4. Talk with children on their level about science both at home and on outings, such as a trip to the beach, museum or park. Rocks and minerals are present all around. See if your kids can find examples of samples from their rock and mineral kits in use. You can show them how rocks are used to make counter tops, landscape materials and building tiles among others.
  5. Give children plenty of time to explore the world, perform experiments, and ask questions to encourage their curiosity.
  6. Show your kids the importance of science by caring for a garden, feeding the birds, and collecting interesting rocks and minerals. Then, give your kids a notebook or activity journal where they can record their experiences.
  7. Observe your children to see what they are most interested in and expand on this by providing them more opportunities to learn. Use the resources of Mini Me Geology’s blog and Dig Into Geology website page to find games, puzzles and experiments for free!
  8. Play a game with your kids on a nature walk.  See how many varieties of rocks, minerals, plants and animals you can find and identify. Have kids recording their findings in their notebook and add them to their rock and mineral kit (well, maybe not the animals…).
  9. Help your kids research fun facts about their rocks and minerals. You can find a lot of great information on the Mini Me Geology blog and website.
  10. Instill a sense of wonder in your children by showing them your own fascination with science and the world. Take some time to do an experiment or identify a rock with your kids. The rewards are endless.

Mini Me Geology has many rock and mineral kits for kids of different ages and interests. If you have questions about our kits or how to use them, contact us. We would love to hear from you!

10 Reasons Every Kid Needs a Rock Kit

10 Reasons Kid Need Rock KitThat’s right, I believe that every kid needs a rock kit. Why? For so many reasons. Here are just a few:

  1. Science is a part of our daily life from cooking, playing ball, growing a garden, technology and watching a rain storm. Kids need to enjoy science even if they do not become a career scientist, because it is important to enjoy the subject.
  2. Understanding science helps kids appreciate and relate to the world around them.
  3. Science education teaches children more than just geology, biology, or physics. They learn to make observations, collect data, think on their own, and draw conclusions.
  4. Without science we would not be able to predict the weather, earthquakes, cure illness or make products that enhance our lifestyles today. We need more scientists.
  5. Kids are naturally curious. Science education fuels that curiosity and provides kids with valuable ideas, skills, and potential future career choices.
  6. Science education gives kids the opportunity to experiment and work in teams increasing communication, research, reporting, and collaboration skills.
  7. Kids who have an understanding of science are more receptive to future technologies and ideas that can stimulate research and development.
  8. Geology education teaches kids about earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and tsunamis giving them knowledge that can protect their health and safety.
  9. Kids who know rocks and minerals can have many careers in gardening, groundwater recovery, pollution control, and jewelry making, just to name a few.
  10. Rock kits help to engage children with a hands-on introduction to science when they are at a naturally curious age. Since you can keep your rock kit forever, kids can come back again and again to find new details about their rocks.

Mini Me Geology has a large selection of rock and mineral kits, individual samples, fossils, books and accessories to help engage your kids in science. With STEM becoming a more important part of most school curriculums, finding fun and innovative ways to encourage children’s interest in science is important.

If you have questions about how to use rock and mineral kits with your kids, contact us and we will be happy to help you find the perfect kit for your child’s age and interests.

New Video: How to Focus Your Hand Lens / Hand Magnifier

This week’s video was really fun to shoot except that I kept messing up the word MAG-NA-FA-CA-TION. I finally got it!

Ask-a-Geologist #20: What can you tell me about the mineral pyrite?

Tell me about the mineral pyrite.

Today I have a special guest with me on the Mini Me Geology Ask-a-Geologist videl. Her name is Piper and we are discussing the mineral pyrite.  (Make sure you watch the video until the end to see our first blooper reel!)

Piper: I got this pyrite sample as a gift. Can you tell me about it?

The mineral name “pyrite” comes from the Greek word for fire. People believe that pyrite got its name because it will spark when you hit it with a steel hammer.

Pyrite is a mineral that is most often known as “fool’s gold” because it looks like real gold. Do you know how to tell the difference?

Piper:  No. How do you tell them apart?

Pyrite Mineral Sample

There are two ways that you can tell them apart. One is the hardness of the samples, and the other is the weight of the samples. Now hardness basically tells you where a mineral is on the Mohs hardness scale. Gold is really, really soft. It’s about a 2.5 to 3 on the scale, which goes from zero to 10. And pyrite is about a 6 to a 6.5 on the scale.

If you had a sample of gold, you could actually take a hammer and pound it out and make it flat. Pyrite, it’s not as easy to do that. Something else you can use is a penny that is older than 1982. Older pennies are in the middle of the Mohs scale. So what you can do is take the penny and scratch it on your sample. If it scratches your sample, you probably have gold because gold is softer than an old penny. If you can’t scratch the sample, and no scratch appears on the sample, it is most likely pyrite. That is because the pyrite is harder than the penny.

The other way is to check out the weight of the sample, and while the sample that Piper has is pretty big and it feels kind of heavy in your hands if you had an equally sized piece of gold, it would be much, much heavier. So pyrite is a lot lighter in weight than gold. Now I’m going to show you something really interesting about Piper’s sample. Pyrite can form a lot of really neat shapes. You look right here on the top of Piper’s sample, you can see that it has different shapes like cubes and octahedrons, and sometimes you can also see that there are little scratches known as “striations” on the faces of the cubes, and that is really characteristic of a pyrite sample. Is there anything else that you want to know about your sample?

Piper: What can I use my pyrite for?

Well, some companies use pyrite to make sulfuric acid, but you don’t need any of that. A beautiful sample like this is best in a collection like yours.

Send Us Your Ask-a-Geologist Questions!

Do you have questions about geology? Submit your Ask-a-Geologist question and we just may answer you in our next video!
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Glaciers are Awesome!

glaciers-are-awesomeA glacier is a large, moving sheet of ice and snow.  Next to oceans, glaciers hold the most water on earth.  The polar areas are covered largely by glaciers and in warmer areas, glaciers cover the highest mountain tops.  Many other geologic features can also be formed by glaciers as well.  Glaciers can be found on every continent.

Glaciers typically move very slowly.  However, there are short times when the glacier moves faster than its normal speed.  Glaciers move rocks and soil as they move across the land surface.  Because of their shape, weight and the rocks they carry, glaciers can leave behind new geologic features as they travel.  Moraines form when rocks and other debris pile up on the sides and ends of a glacier.  Valleys, in the shape of a “U” are forms as a glacier passes over the land surface.  The study of glaciers is one of the most interesting subjects in geology.

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