Natural History Club Do not sell.
MARCIA MATTERN·THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016
Special Studies
Geology (Rocks, Minerals, etc)
Notes from PNEU: For the Geology course Mr. Rowbotham begins at home, with the stones in our house, garden and road;--Observations out of doors; Nature's tools for breaking up the rocks; how soil is made and what is going on beneath our feet; the origin of springs; the work of the sea, its floor and how built up; various rocks and how deposited; fossils and what they have to tell us; the work of glaciers and volcanoes. In short, how we learn the past history of our earth from the story of the rocks.
Handbook Of Nature Study for reference for the mother p 743-775
Egg cartons or cigar boxes are perfect containers for budding rock collectors.
Looking at geological information from your “neighborhood”. http://www.isgs.illinois.edu/maps/i...
Words that might be worth knowing: igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic, weathering, erosion, minerals, fossils, quartz crystals
Week 1 Talk about landforms in our area. What creates them? What moves them? Look at John Muir Laws instructions on how to draw rocks. http://johnmuirlaws.com/art-and-dra...
Week 2 Go out and see what kinds of variations in rocks are found naturally in your area. Visit Starved Rock? Visit Rock formations along the river? Visit Rocky Glen Park? Add some actual drawings of real rocks to your nature journal.
Week 3 Types of Rock http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/mse... HONS p. 743-750 Learn about different kinds of rocks. Add notes about different kinds of rocks to your nature journal.
Week 4 Try to find some rocks in your yard or area and identify the kind/type using a guide book or online. Sort according to what group they are in. Consider using a test kit to determine. http://www.carolina.com/catalog/det...
Week 5 Consider all the variety of ways we use rock and mineral products in our homes. Things made from rocks might include: salt, glass jars, toothpaste, chalk, pencils, scissors, jewelry, aluminum foil, paper clips, pottery, bricks, cement, petroleum products such as plastic, lipstick, polyester clothes. This link might help. http://www.mineralogy4kids.org/mine...
Week 6 Read more about how we use minerals in our homes. http://www.funkidslive.com/learn/ge...
Add some uses of minerals in your home and what rocks they came from to your nature journal.
Week 7 Waterways in Illinois and how they effect geological forms/rocks. (this focuses on old earth belief). I personally find it good to talk about these basic differences in beliefs. Everything should point back to God. http://isgs.illinois.edu/outreach/g...
Week 8 Local water and it’s effects Visit the local waterways! Cooper Park in East Peoria and Riverfront Park allow you close up visits to the water!
Map of waterways of IL http://geology.com/lakes-rivers-wat...
Peoria Mineral Springs http://www.peoriamineralsprings.org/...
Consider a landscapito for your nature journal! https://johnmuirlaws.com/art-and-dr...
Week 9 Consider buying geodes to open. Follow directions. Make sure to wear goggles! https://smile.amazon.com/GeoCentral...
Week 10 You pick! loads of ideas here on the IL State Museum website http://www.museum.state.il.us/
Places to visit:
Funk Rock and Gem Museum near Bloomington IL http://www.funkprairiehomemuseum.com/...
Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL http://www.museum.state.il.us/
Places to visit as a family
http://sunfoundation.org/sun2/?page... Rock collecting day near Washburn, IL
Self serve Geode Rock collecting for a fee.
Jacobs’ Geode Shop and Mine:
823 East County Rd 1220
Hamilton, IL 62341
(217) 847-3509
Books to borrow:
A rock is lively by Diana Aston
The Earth by Arthur Beiser
Rocks and Minerals by Steve Parker
The Dynamic Earth by Brian Skinner
Rocks and Minerals by Herbert Zim and Shaffer
Consider ordering publications from the IL Geology WEBSITE http://www.isgs.illinois.edu/
Local Rock and Gem club http://www.pasgeology.com/
ROCK AND GEM SHOW usually in Peoria in late August.
recommended list by Nicole Williams
Rocks, Rivers and the Changing Earth by Herman Schneider (IP)
All About the Planet Earth by Patricia Lauber (137 p.)
Science Explorer: Roy Chapman Andrews by Jules Archer
Secrets from the Rocks: Dinosaur Hunting With Roy Chapman Andrews by Albert Marrin
A Grain of Sand: Nature’s Secret Wonder by Gary Greenberg (Reference)
The Geology Book (Wonders of Creation) by John D Morris
Earth: An Intimate History by Richard Fortey
Giants of Geology: The Story of the Great Geologists by Carroll Lane Fenton
Example exam questions: (ideas taken from the volumes, exams and PNEU articles)
Describe quarts, felspar, mica, hornblende.
Tell the geological history of your neighborhood and area.
Make a sketch of a landscape that you have observed in your area. Label the names of the rocks you expect to find there.
What is a river? Draw a diagram of a river and mark it’s source, mouth, bed, banks and tributaries. Include things you might find in the river beds or riverbanks.
Please do not sell.