FANTASTIC FIELD TRIP!

The fourth graders had a wonderful time at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. We attended a workshop where we got to be geologists for a day and identify minerals by their properties. We also learned about how useful minerals are in our everyday life.

This activity helped us to understand that in order to be considered a mineral  it needs to  be all four of these things:
1.  A solid
2. Made by nature
3. NEVER alive
4. Same substance throughout

Here we are comparing the property of HEFT. This is one of the properties used to tell minerals apart.

How minerals break or fracture is another way to determine the type of mineral. We smashed HALITE (aka salt) and it broke into cubes. 

Here are some common uses for some minerals.

We got to eat lunch outside, picnic-style. Thanks to the beautiful weather!

This amethyst weighs 1,600 pounds!