Explore Rocks and Minerals! offers kids ages 6–9 a fascinating introduction to geology. It investigates the geological forces that create and transform rocks, outlining the life cycle of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks, and what they can tell us about the earth. It also explores fossils, and how they come to exist and are discovered.
Explore Rocks and Minerals! includes 20 hands-on activities to bring learning to life. Kids create their own crystals, sculpt edible models of the planet, and bake volcanic meringue cookies. These easy-to- follow activities require minimal adult supervision and use common household products. By combining an interactive component with jokes, fun facts, and cartoons, Explore Rocks and Minerals! provides a fun, accessible introduction to geology.
Reviews
Children's Literature Review
“Tells all you wanted to know and more about various forms of rocks and minerals. Embedded into the book are projects, experiments and activities that could easily be conducted at home for a small expense in collecting the materials and in some cases the results are yummy snacks. Earth science teachers would find a lot of use for this handbook in a classroom setting. The text is engaging and the print is easy on the eyes.”
Old Schoolhouse Magazine
“A great springboard for a unit study or a supplement to studying geology, Earth science, or rocks and minerals. It has 20 activities and experiments--including the wonderfully yummy Earth models that my children thoroughly enjoyed making. This book is written in a very readable, informative way—complete with comparisons that children in elementary school will understand. This book is full of interesting facts, sidebars of vocabulary words, and clear explanations. Even my pre-K child has enjoyed listening to facts about the Earth and participating in the activities. This book has such a thorough offering of simple activities that children will enjoy and wonderful comparisons and explanations that I am excited to use and have this book in my homeschool. I highly recommend it.”
Booklist
“This offering from the Explore Your World series introduces budding geologists to basic information about rocks and minerals. The authors examine the earth; minerals and crystals; igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks; and fossils. For each topic, they present a brief discussion, define technical terms, offer sidebars with intriguing details (and jokes), and provide several projects that demonstrate key concepts introduced in the text. Activities include creating salt-crystal models, Epsom salt stalactites, and an edible model of the earth and its layers. Stone's black-and-white illustrations—especially the cartoon mole sporting a miner's hat who guides readers through the text—help to clarify technical matters and elucidate steps in the projects. The suggested activities are well chosen, carefully explained, and require easily accessible household items. Appended with the usual back matter, this is makes a good choice for classroom science units.”
Stories for Children Magazine
“With 20 experiments, games and projects to choose from . . . not only kids, but also families can have a wonderful time each weekend learning something new . . . Each chapter/section covers a different topic and had a clear explanation of underlying concepts making learning fun and engaging for the whole family. Any child would have a great time reading, leaning and doing the activities in this book.”
Marc L. Wilson, Curator for Minerals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
“I recommend this fun and educational introduction to the science of Geology."
R.A. (Bud) Wobus, Williams College Professor of Geology
"This is a terrific introduction to an exciting science, one that appeals to kids at an early age!”