Science at the Library ~ Diamonds, Rubies & Emeralds – Oh My! (How Precious Minerals Form)

I have been, or can be if you click on a link and make a purchase, compensated via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value for writing this post. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Last week’s trip to the library program had us learning about gems.  We learned how they are formed from minerals that are propelled up into just the right spot in the rock.  If the minerals needed to form a particular gem under or overshoot the spot with the right pressure, they don’t form into a gem.  If there’s not enough of the minerals, you don’t get a gem.

Here the boys are gathering up the ‘right’ minerals (construction paper of different colors and shapes) and putting them into the ‘right’ space in a short time.

We also learned that the color you see for a given gem is because of the particular material found in the gem.  If you don’t have enough of that mineral, you won’t see the color.  To see this in action, we made mini-spinners using a piece of straw pushed through a circular piece of cardstock that they colored with spots, lines, or other shapes of a chosen color.  They do spin rather well on a nice, flat surface!

Then the real fun began!  To learn about pressure and needing to be in the right spot, the kids did a few hands-on experiments.  First one was shooting a piece of thick string out of a bottle trying to get it to the ‘right’ spot on the board.

Next, each kid picked a balloon, blew it up, held it shut until their turn to apply it to the line (piece of straw on the string with tape to attach) and then let it go.  Several attempts were needed to get just the ‘right’ amount of pressure to catapult their balloon to the right spot for a gem to form!

Finally, they used buttons to force the mineral of choice to the right spot.  Since the floor had colored tiles, they were trying to get from one colored spot to another one.