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On Sun, 9 Feb 2003 12:11:38 -0600 "Olif VanPelt" <ovanpelt@...>
writes:
> So my kids have interests...let's take my 9 year old son for
> example. He likes rocks. He has collected them since he was little.
> Since this is something he is interested in, what exactly do I do
> now?

These are some of the things I would do:
1) Visit a cave
2) Dig a big hole about 2' deep and examine the layers of earth.
3) Visit a jeweler and look at and identify different gems and stones.
4) Buy or borrow a tumbling machine and try all different kinds of rocks
in it. Make jewelry for presents.
5) Visit a quarry and watch them in operation.
6) Make a crystal garden.
7) Collect larger interesting rocks and make a rock garden. Research what
plants and animals would prefer this type of environment, and add them to
the garden.
8) Visit a coal mine.
9) Put a handful of dirt in a paint strainer. Pour water through it till
only sediment remains. Try to identify the sediment.
10) Highly recommend "365 Super Science Experiments with everyday
materials" for all kinds of rock type experiments.

Hope this helps.
Wende

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I like Wende's rock list.

Find a magnet, and see if any of the dirt in your yard is iron! Because of
drainage from the mountain above us, we have more iron in our yard than is
natural or average, so Marty has collected a couple of pounds of it. He has
a piece of magnet that came out of a speaker that a friend gave him. He puts
it in a ziploc bag, ties a string to the bag, drags it around and then turns
the bag inside out and removes the magnet to collect the iron dust.

This won't work everywhere, but you might find other stuff I could never find
in my yard, too!

Sandra