3.2.1 LIVE

Mine Explorations - Choice Board

Pennsylvania's Crystal CaveThen & Now

Lackawanna Tour & Pennsylvania Mining Pictures

Grand Canyon Google Earth Tour

Cave of Crystals - Naica, Mexico In 2000, the Giant Cave of Crystals was discovered in Mexico. This cave was a giant authentic geode! It is completely covered in white selenite crystals, some of which are longer than 10 meters, the biggest crystals in the world!

Opening your Geodes!

1. Collect your materials.

2. Put the geode on a hard concrete surface, like a sidewalk, patio, or garage floor.

3. Put on your safety goggles. Then, cover the geode with a cloth to help prevent rock fragments from hurting you.

4. Use the rock pick to gently strike the geode along the middle until it splits open. If you hit too hard, you may cause the geode to break into small pieces, so start with gentle blows.

5. Examine the interior of the geode. In most cases, crystals should be visible. Repeat the activity steps with a new geode if your geode does not contain crystals.

6. Share your geode with the class!

Google Earth Minerals & Mining Tour Link

Minerals & Mining in the Grand Canyon

Google Earth, Arizona

Take of tour of the history of minerals and mining in what is now the Grand Canyon National Park.Learn about prospectors that arrived in the mid 1800's looking for gold, silver, and copper and what they found!Click the link below to start the tour. Read the information then scroll to the bottom and click the "Tour Start" button.Read through each piece of information then click the right arrow to move on to the next site. Enjoy your tour!

Crystal Cave Virtual Tour

Crystal Cave

Kutztown, Pennsylvania

The Crystal Cave is an underground cave known for its abundance of milky white formations.Watch the video to the right to see what the cave looked like in the 1950s and then the second video will show what it looks like now!You can visit the cave for a tour if you live in the area or use the link below to go through a "virtual tour."

Pennsylvania Mining Sites & Conditions

Lackawanna Coal Mine

Scranton, Pennsylvania

The Lackawanna Coal Mine is an Anthracite coal mine that opened in 1860. The mine was open until 1966 where it laid abaondoned until 1978. It then was converted to a museum that you can visit!Check out the video to the right to see what a tour of the Lackawanna Coal Mine looks like!Then, check out the link below to see pictures of other mining sites and miners in Pennsylvania.