How to Use A Mini Me Geology Mineral Kit

 

Congratulations on your new mineral kit! Your kit includes a white streak plate, black streak plate, hand magnifier and information cards to help you identify each mineral sample. You can also use your fingernail, a paperclip, and some vinegar (with adult help) to test some minerals.

 

 

Streak plates are a great to start to determine the identity of your minerals. First, choose a mineral and a streak plate. Try both streak plates, but in general you will probably want to use the white streak plate with dark colored minerals and the black streak plate with light colored minerals.

 

Place the streak plate on a table and scratch the mineral across the plate. You may have to scratch really hard to see the color. The streak color is the color of the mineral in powder form. The harder the mineral, the harder you will likely have to scratch. If you need help, ask an adult to try to scratch the mineral on the streak plate.

 

 

Your Mini Me Geology hand magnifier has two different strengths – 3X and 6X. The large area has a 3X magnification which means that the object you are looking at will appear to be three times its normal size. The smaller area has a 6X magnification which means that the object you are looking at will appear to be six times its normal size.

 

To use your hand magnifier start by choosing a mineral sample. Hold the mineral on the opposite side of the hand magnifier from your eye. Start by looking through the larger, 3X, area of the hand magnifier. You can move the mineral or the hand magnifier until you can see clearly through the lens. If you want to see certain parts of the sample even more closely, use the smaller 6X area and focus the lens the same way described.

 

 

The identification cards in your kit are designed to help you determine the name of each of your new samples. The information on each card will provide you some fun facts about each mineral. To identify the mineral, look up the color of the streak, the hardness, mineral color and look at the photo. You can use this information along with the streak plate, hand lens, and our identification flow chart to identify each mineral. You can test the hardness using your fingernail, a copper penny (dated before 1982), a pocket knife and steel file with your parents’ help. Check out our article on how to determine a mineral’s hardness here.

 

You can also download and use our Mineral Identification Flow Chart for another fun way of identifying your minerals.  The download link is at the top of the page and details of how to use the chart are next.

 

We have designed this mineral flow chart to help you identify your samples since some can look very similar. To use our Mineral Identification Flow Chart, it will be easiest if you print out your own copy first. The flow chart moves from left to right, following the arrows.

 

Step 1: Select a Mineral - Choose a mineral that you want and place it on the “Mineral to Identify” block.

 

Step 2: Test the color of the streak. - If you see a colored streak move your sample to the “Colored Streak” block on the upper portion of the flow chart. If you see a white streak or no streak at all (colorless streak) move your mineral to the lower streak box marked “White or Colorless Streak.”

 

Step 3: Determine the Color – The next step is to decide the color of your mineral. Some minerals can be a variety of colors so choose the color that most closely matches your sample. Some minerals can be identified after this step. If the mineral has no additional special features, the arrow should direct you to the mineral’s name. If the mineral does have special features that will help distinguish it from other samples, you will need to perform additional tests. Remember, minerals can be many different colors so check all possibilities!

 

Step 4: Test Special Features – To test the special features listed on the chart, you may need to gather some household items such as a paperclip and some vinegar. Kids, get an adult to help you with the vinegar. Many of the special features can been seen by looking through your hand magnifier. Sometimes, the special features are needed to identify your mineral, other times, the special features are simply fun to see. Kids, if you think you have Halite, let an adult do the taste test! See how they react when it tastes like salt!

 

Follow these steps for each of your mineral samples until you have looked at them all. Remember to use the identification cards for more information such has mineral hardness. You can learn more about testing a minerals hardness with our article at Dig Into Geology. Once you know the name of your minerals, you can read about the uses of the minerals and where in the world they can be found. If you need help, grab an adult and give us a call.