Taking solid field notes is a skill that many students are not taught. The days of a geologist’s life recorded in a well-worn, dusty but interesting book full of diagrams, maps and descriptions are all but gone. This task has
Mica has been used for many purposes over time and even in my short lifetime I have seen it in toasters, light fittings and as windows in coal-fired heaters. But what is this amazing mineral? Mica is a
Understanding time is something that geoscientists are just great at doing. But we get a little sick of people not understanding the boundaries of fantasy and reality….so here it is! And you can get it on a T shirt here.
Most people believe that one of the major hazards of volcanoes are lava flows. They are surprised to find out that almost no one has ever been killed during an eruption by lava flows – and that sadly most
Mapping lava flows using satellite images is a wonderful activity that you can do in your classroom. In some locations, the color of the flows due to the weathering of the lava and the amount of revegetation can be
Field trips are critical. Learning Earth science in the field is as important as learning to cook in a kitchen. Why then do we expect teachers and their students to learn about the wonders of our dynamic planet from
Cleavage is an important diagnostic feature of minerals. However it is often misunderstood. And more often mistaken for another mineral property – the ability to grow a crystal face. Quartz crystal showing crystal faces growing out of a mass of
Often we have to teach about phenomenon, like an earthquake, that our students have never experienced. We can read eyewitness accounts, watch videos and share stories – but nothing beats actually feeling the ground move. Some are lucky enough
One of the reasons I fell in love with geology was finding evidence of igneous activity in the form of a dike through the sandstones where I grew up. You see, I grew up in an area where you
An EarthCache is a special place that you can visit using GPS technology to learn more about the geology of our planet – and what is more there are over 20,000 EarthCache sites around the globe. So that means almost