Students do all these activities in two days, one day at the museum and one day in the mines. In the mineral exhibition of the museum, a collection of minerals is made available for the students to touch, look at, examine, and break apart. We have put some tables and chairs in the mineral exhibition room at which the students work. We want them to experience the museum atmosphere, totally different from the atmosphere in their classroom. Students break minerals with a hammer and count cleavage planes.
Students work in groups of four.
Each group member contributes to the data collection, data analysis, and reports of results. These activities introduce students to other mineral properties including crystal shape, lustre, and colour. The mine segment includes two activities. Firesetting Students are introduced to the silver mine history from the 15th century when the miners were using firesetting instead of dynamite. Museum staff prepare the mine for firesetting the day before, so when the students arrive the rock inside the mine is loose.