Mini Me Geology Blog » science

The Entire Line of Rock Detective Kits are Now Available!

tracyb — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:05:29 +0000

We are thrilled to announced that our entire line of Rock Detective kits are now available. For the next few days on our blog we will feature each of the new kits to give you a little information about each one. To check them all out click here.

First up, is our Crystal Experiment Kit. Children love the Crystal Experiments in this brand new kit from Mini Me Geology. Your Crystal Experiment kit comes complete with seven cool mineral samples: blue calcite, Iceland spar calcite, magnetite, halite rock salt, hematite, jasper and sulfur. Also included in the kit is a hand magnifier and a CD with 30 pages of mineral information, sample identification activities, puzzles, coloring pages, and experiments. Adult supervision is required for some of the experiments.

Other fun activities on the CD include creating your own adventure story, making a personal geologist’s field notebook and your very own rock collection box!

The CD requires free Adobe Reader 9.0 which can be downloaded at www.adobe.com. This software is easy to download and use so please use version 9.0 which makes the CD very fun to view!

Our new kits were designed with elementary school-aged children in mind. The activities on the kit are great fun for the whole family. We always love to hear what you think about our products, so please email us at rockinfo@minimegeology.com with your comments.

Our new articles on ehow.com – Read Us, Rate Us Please

tracyb — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:58:37 +0000

We are so excited to announce that we have started a new series of articles on ehow.com. Our articles are about geology for children, of course. Please take a minute to read and rate our articles. We hope that our friend, elementary readers, parents, homeschool families, teachers and science-lovers will enjoy our articles. See our links here:

How to Focus a Child’s Hand Lens / Hand Magnifier and,

How to Perform a Mineral Streak Test

Today’s Ask-a-Geologist Question: Banded Textures

tracyb — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 15:17:10 +0000

Question: What term for metamorphic rock with banded texture?

Answer: You may be referring to “foliation” which is the layering within a metamorphic rock. Foliation occurs when there is a strong pressure applied to the rock in one direction, just like when you put your hands flat together and push. When this pressure is applied, certain minerals, like mica and chlorite, grow with their long direction perpendicular to the pressure. This make the rock appear with layering and/or banding.

Join us on a Mineral Mission!

tracyb — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:52:49 +0000

The first kit in our new Rock Detectives line is now available. Take your children on a Mineral Mission with this fantastic kit. Your Mineral Mission kit comes complete with six cool mineral samples (lepidolite, rhodonite, tourmaline, limonite, epidote and amazonite), a hand magnifier and a CD with over 25 pages of mineral information, sample identification activities, puzzles, coloring pages, and experiments. Other fun activities on the CD include creating your own adventure story, making a personal geologist’s field notebook and your very own rock collection box! See our newest Mineral Mission kit today!

EARTHQUAKES

tracyb — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:46:38 +0000

Earthquakes usually occur when the Earth’s crust moves along a fault, a break in the Earth’s crust, causing the location of the land to shift. There are basically three types of faults: normal, reverse and tear. Normal faults occur where the rocks pull apart and the rocks on the upper side of the fault slide downward. Reverse faults occur where the rocks are pushed together and the rocks on the upper side of the fault slide upwards. Tear faults move sideways instead of up and down, just as if the rocks were being torn apart.

This photo shows a fault line. If you follow the two gray layers with the white layer in between from left to right you will see the fault line.

The magnitude of an earthquake is sometimes measured on the Richter Scale (some scientists use other scales as well). The Richter Scale measures earthquakes on a scale of less than 1 (minor) to 10 (epic) and above. Earthquake with a magnitude less than 3 are not typically noticed by people but can happen up to 1,000 times each day. Earthquakes that have a magnitude of 7 or more typically cause the ground to shake noticeably and can cause damage to buildings and the land surface. There are usually less than 20 earthquakes each year that measure 7.0. Earthquakes greater than 7.0 are very rare and, in fact, a magnitude of 10 or higher has never been recorded. For more information on the Richter Scale and other scales used to measure earthquakes click here.

Earthquakes can occur both on land and under water. If the earthquake occurs under the ocean, a huge tidal wave, called a tsunami, can occur. Tsunamis are very dangerous and can flood a large area very quickly.

The most popular question at Mini Me Geology

tracyb — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:33:32 +0000

By far the most common question we get here at Mini Me Geology is “What kit is best for a child who is just getting interested in rocks and minerals?” I always tell people that if kids are new to geology, rocks and minerals our basic mineral kit is a fantastic place to begin. Our My Rockin’ Collection! Minerals has:

• 15 Large Mineral Samples: augite, azurite, beryl, calcite, fluorite, garnet, gypsum, halite, kyanite, magnetite, malachite, olivine, milky quartz, amethyst, and sodalite

• Hand Magnifier

• White Streak Plate

• Black Streak Plate

• Identification Card for each mineral

• Sturdy compartment box with snug latches for secure and organized storage

When child first opens the kit, have them use the cards to try to identify each sample. If you are unsure, the name of each sample is below the foam padding in the bottom of the storage box. The My Rockin’ Collection! kits were designed with young children in mind so there are plenty of clues and pictures to help them identify each mineral.

Another great thing to do it to visit the “Dig Into Science” section of our website. In that section, you will find guides for each of our kits. These guides provide information on how to use the cards, streak plates and the hand magnifier. There is also an identification diagram that you can print for your child to use with the kit. This printable chart is great if your child works well with the process of elimination.

As always, we are here to help you at Mini Me Geology so if you have any questions about the minerals while you and your child are playing with the kit, please give us a call!