Love, love, love, love! Did I mention how much I just love these new Selenite Sticks? Selenite is a form of the mineral Gypsum. When the long strands form together in groups, they take the form of these super, awesome, cute “sticks.â€
Filed under: Minerals & Crystals on November 15th, 2016 | No Comments »
Today I have a special guest with me. 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!)
Filed under: Ask-a-Geologist Q&A, Minerals & Crystals, Mini Me Geology Videos on August 1st, 2014 | No Comments »
The fact is that EVERY mineral has a luster. Geologists use so many terms for different types of luster is will make your head spin. Sometimes the luster is obvious and sometimes a little more subtle. Basically, luster is the appearance of a mineral’s surface when light shines on the sample. The absorption, refraction and reflection of the light upon the surface of the mineral will present as different luster.
Filed under: Geology Education, Minerals & Crystals on January 27th, 2014 | No Comments »
Salt is a common mineral found worldwide called halite. Many people also call the mineral rock salt. The mineral is very soft in relation to other minerals and can form nice crystal shapes. The crystals can forms individually in crystalline masses. Rock salt forms as a common sedimentary deposit in areas of enclosed salt water. Salt is a versatile teaching tool because it has definite physical properties that are easy to recognize and you can perform in class and at home experiments as a demonstration.
Filed under: Geology / Earth Science, Geology Education, Minerals & Crystals on April 4th, 2013 | No Comments »
Are you fascinated with rocks and minerals? Do you want to start a collection for yourself or your kids but don’t know where to start and what types of samples to collect? I get lots of questions from people who want to start a collection but a daunted by the variety of rock and mineral types and the costs of some of these samples. Here are some great tips for starting your own collection.
Filed under: Geology / Earth Science, Minerals & Crystals, Rocks - Igneous, Sedimentary & Metamorphic on November 25th, 2012 | No Comments »
Salt is a common evaporite mineral that exists around the world and is often called halite or rock salt. The mineral is very soft in relation to other minerals and can form nice crystal shapes.
Filed under: Geology / Earth Science, Minerals & Crystals on June 17th, 2011 | 1 Comment »
We received this interesting question from a 10-year old who is interested in what is it like to work as a geologist.
Question: Is being a geologist fun? Or is it drudgery? Do you have to stay away from your family for long periods of time?
Filed under: Ask-a-Geologist Q&A, Geology Education on November 9th, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A streak test is one tool that geologists use to determine the identity of a mineral. The “streak†is the color of the mineral in powdered form. Some minerals will have a streak color that is the same as the outer color of the mineral while others will have a streak color that is very different from the outer color.
Filed under: Geology / Earth Science, Minerals & Crystals, Rocks - Igneous, Sedimentary & Metamorphic on September 17th, 2009 | 2 Comments »
This has to be the most-asked question we receive here at Mini Me Geology. Question: What are the hollow ball-like objects, such as quartz, which are found in sedimentary rocks?
Filed under: Ask-a-Geologist Q&A, Minerals & Crystals, Rocks - Igneous, Sedimentary & Metamorphic on June 22nd, 2009 | No Comments »
Amethyst is a common, purple form of the mineral quartz. Fairly hard, amethyst is a 7 on the Mohs hardness scale which has a range from 1 (softest) to 10 (hardest).
Filed under: Geology / Earth Science, Minerals & Crystals on March 16th, 2009 | No Comments »