Tag Archives: Mineralogy

Wooster’s Fossil (and Mineral) of the Week: Marcasite worm burrows from Bolivia

Here’s a type of fossil I’ve never seen: worm burrow casts made entirely of the mineral marcasite. These come from the George Chambers (’79) gift collection, so we know only that they were found in Bolivia. Despite the lack of … Continue reading

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Wooster’s Pseudofossil of the Week: Manganese dendrites from Germany

We haven’t had a pseudofossil in this space for awhile. A pseudofossil is an object that is often mistaken for a fossil but is actually inorganic. The above may look like  fossil fern, but it is instead a set of … Continue reading

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Early Morning Powdering Session

WOOSTER, OH – Our dedicated Mineralogy students appeared in the lab bright and early this morning for an optional sample prep session. Each student has an unknown mineral that they are studying in a semester-long research project. Most of the … Continue reading

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Remember those wooden crystal models?

WOOSTER, OH – I’m always awed by the beautiful and perfect symmetry of crystals. I can think of no better way to teach external symmetry than with wooden crystal models. The wooden crystal models are a common experience in geology, … Continue reading

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Teaching Mineralogy, Petrology, and Geochemistry

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – If you haven’t been following my twitter feed (http://twitter.com/meagenpollock), you may not know that I’ve been at the 2011 Cutting Edge Workshop on Teaching Mineralogy, Petrology, and Geochemistry (twitter hashtag #sercMPG). Expert educators have gathered to discuss … Continue reading

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Minerals in My Toothpaste

WOOSTER, OH – I can’t think of a more exciting thing to do on a Saturday morning than play with minerals and X-rays! Wooster’s Geology Department and the Expanding Your Horizons Program girls explored how minerals are used on a … Continue reading

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Structural geology and mineralogy at Calico

ZZYZX, CALIFORNIA–It was surprisingly cool this morning in Zzyzx as we left for our day of fieldwork, but we were not surprised by the wind at our first stop, Calico Ghost Town outside Barstow. Every time we’ve been there it … Continue reading

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Memories of warmer days…

Now that the semester is winding down and the cold weather has set in, I find my mind wandering back to the beginning of the academic year. It seems like it was years ago, not months, that our Mineralogy class … Continue reading

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Gifts for generations of geology students

WOOSTER, OHIO — The Geology Department at Wooster has received many donations of rocks, minerals and fossils over the years. Collectors are always passionate about their specimens, so when they decide to donate their treasures they want them to go … Continue reading

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Lunar Ilmenite

Lunar Ilmenite: Next Gen Fuel Source Part 1 and Part 2 presented by Andrew Retzler ’11.

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