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Pittsburgh Section
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NEW: Download the SME Pittsburgh Section / NIOSH Minerals Kit Handbook (700 kB) This is the booklet that goes with your minerals kit that you received at the science festival, a science teacher's convention or at the Carnegie Gem and Minerals Show. WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY SME STUDENT CHAPTER HOSTS MINERALS FOR KIDS BOOTH For the fifth year officers and members of West Virginia University’s SME student chapter staffed their “Minerals for Kids” booth at the 15 th Annual Gem, Mineral, and Fossil show. WVU Mining Engineering majors Ryan Critchfield and John Cvechko and grad student Brijes Mishra under the guidance of Dan Alexander coordinated this year’s booth. 30 students and faculty participated in bringing minerals to kids.
The booth teaches children and their families about ten different minerals we all use daily, often without realizing it. There is a station for each mineral at which a student explains where the mineral comes from and what it is used for using props, such as iron, cereal, soap, toothpaste, kitty litter, and chewing gum to show common items that are made from minerals. John Cvechko says, “The visitors were very interested in the display which matched the minerals to the props. They did not realize there were so many uses for minerals in our daily lives.” We even had Channel 12 TV interview us this year for the evening news. Gaetano Iannacchione adds, “The little kids make faces when we tell them there is limestone in chewing gum and toothpaste.” For our SME members this event is a great way to provide a community service, as they share their knowledge with the children who visit the booth. Morgan Sears, SME president says, “The kids and their parents don’t know about the mining industry. We want to explain to them where common things come from.”
Children were given an information bag filled with pencils, stickers, and booklets as well as their own mineral kit to take home. In fact, our booth was visited by so many children; the kits ran out on the last day of the show! Over the last five years we have given out over 750 mineral kits to kids. The show was held at the WV Geological Center, Mont Chateau, Cheat Lake, WV and was sponsored by Sunset Fossils and Minerals and the Geological and Economic Survey. The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, Pittsburgh and Central Appalachian Sections supplied the mineral kits. Annual Carnegie Gem and Minerals Show November 16 through 19, 2006 at the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh Every year, SME Pittsburgh Section and NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Center and the Carnegie Museum Rock Hounds sponsored a booth for Kids to "Pick-your-own-and-take-home" a collection of rocks and minerals. Volunteers from SME Pittsburgh Section and NIOSH were at hand to explain the origin, properties and use of these minerals in everyday-life products such as toothpaste, laundry detergent and baby diapers. About 500 young "Rock Hounds" attended the program.
For more information contact John Murphy at (412) 624-9923 My
Favorite Minerals Impressions from the The PA Science Teachers’ Convention December 2/3 in Hershey was well attended. SME Pittsburgh Section and NIOSH Pittsburgh sponsored a Minerals Booth which was the most attractive booth at the convention. Volunteers from SME, NIOSH, Penn State University, PA DEP and the PA Geologic Survey handed out 641 minerals kits with a variety of industrial minerals and explained their origin and use to teachers and convention attendees. Other classroom materials including information booklets, posters, games and detailed teacher materials were available as well.
Mr. Marushak wrote us, "In order to understand how things on this planet work, it is necessary to find out what they are made of. Minerals make up many of the things we touch, use, and see in our everyday lives. For this reason, it is extremely important for students to learn about mineralogy, and it’s importance in the world today. Rock and Roll!" Congratulations! We hope the video and book can help teach students in your class and school that, unless things can be grown, they have to be mined. Other impressions from the conference:
For more information contact John Murphy at (412) 624-9923
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