Teaching Trunks
Skymobile: Geology and Mineralogy

An excellent way to engage students in what is often a less-than-entertaining lesson on geology, our Skymobile Teaching Trunk is a refreshing change from the normal textbook lesson on the earth’s formation. Materials included in the trunk take students beyond the identification and physical components of geology but give an extensive look at the actual formation and life cycle of rocks and minerals. Lessons are also applied to practical, real-life situations in which students learn the importance of the materials and their modern day uses. Connections to other science units are made by teaching the geology of other terrestrial (rocky) planets such as Mars.

Inventory

• Skymobile Teacher Guide (Teacher Keeps)
• Skymobile CD-ROM (Teacher Keeps)

Books

• The Mystery of Mars by Sally Ride and Tam O’Shaughnessy
• Rocks & Minerals by Neil Morris
• Eyewitness Earth by Susanna Van Rose
• Eyewitness Rocks & Minerals by Dr. R. F. Symes
• The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen

Posters

• Minerals and Modern Applications
• Elements in the body
• The Rock Cycle
• Common Ground: Modern Mining and You
• Mining at Play

Video

• Bill Nye the Science Guy: Rocks and Soil

Activity Packs

• Mineral Detectives
• Doodad Sort
• Shopping for Minerals
• Pieces of the Planets
• Rock Cycle Stories

Equipment/Artifacts

• Sulfur, Graphite and Copper riker
• Granite
• Gneiss
• Limestone
• Coal
• Hematite
• Quartz
• Sulfur
• Red Hematite
• Limonite
• Pyrite
• Chromite
• Sphalerite
• Gray Hematite
• Microcline
• Slate
• Basalt
• Marble
• Obsidian