Hello Everyone,
I recently had the chance to talk about meteorites to six classes of third
grade students, something which I enjoy very much. If you have not done this
and you get the opportunity, I would encourage you to do so. It is really a
lot of fun. Let me share a few of my observations.
Kids love the big heavy irons, bring at least one but make sure it is a
solid piece. They can pass it around but if it is a rust flaky Nantan, for
example, they will manage to peel off some lose rust spots and it is kind of
embarrassing to the presenter. Also do not let them handle a Sikhote-Alin
shrapnel piece. Some shrapnel have VERY sharp edges which can easily cut small
hands, which would also be embarrassing to the presenter.
I like to bring a large piece of quartz crystal with me to make a nice
contrast between a nice fusion crusted stone and terrestrial rocks and
minerals. Some kids, though, will be as interested if not more
interested in the quartz.
The children were very much aware of the monetary value of meteorites. A
girl asked how much I would offer her if she found a meteorite from the moon
and I jokingly responded, "well, at least $10.00." The kids got the joke
because they knew it would be worth much more than that. A few kids focused
almost exclusively on the monetary value of meteorites ("how is that one
worth, etc.").
I bring along several books with nice pictures of meteorites to augment the
presentation and my homemade "Magnet on a Stick" (actually, a big dowel rod).
My wife teaches third grade language arts and in her class, a girl had brought
in her rock collection for me to examine to determine if any were meteorites.
For now, lets call her the "Rock Girl."
I talked about the properties of meteorites and I demonstrated they are
attracted to a magnet and earth rocks are not. There are some terrestrial
exceptions but I figured why complicate matters by pointing out the rare
exceptions. Rock girl brings a metallic looking rock towards me, I hold the
magnet on a stick out to her, she places it on the magnet and low and behold,
IT STICKS.
Silence fell over the room and the little girl had a grin that stretched
from ear to ear. Simultaneously, my eyes open, my mouth drops and I hurriedly
bring the object closer for inspection. After years of working with
meteorites, I immediately knew what it was...
Hematite :-(
Okay, now I back peddle a little and explain that there ARE some earth
rocks that kinda look like meteorites and will stick to a magnet and HEMATITE
is one (you can see an example of this great meteorwrong on my website). South
Georgia is not known for large quantities of hematite but I failed to ask her
immediately where she obtained her sample. My mistake.
A little while latter I show the kids three large perfectly formed
tektites: a dumbbell, a disk, and a teardrop. I explain the differences
between meteorites and tektites, I let the kids hold them, and all of a sudden
the Rock Girl says, "I have one of those." She pulls a black glassy object
from a box on her desk and hands it to me. I look at the top surface and
recognize it immediately...
It's a tektite!
Now, you have to understand my excitement at this point. The Georgia
Tektite strewn field is about four or five counties west of the school. As far
as I know, no Georgia tektite has ever been found in Bryan County, which is
where the little girl lives. I looked over at my wife and after seeing
literally dozens of kg of tektites even she recognized it as a probable
tektite. I began thinking that the Georgia strewn field has just now been
greatly extended when I turned it over and my heart sank.
The other side was very smooth and concave, as if it were once part of the
interior of a larger object and was part of a gas bubble.
It was a Chinese tektite. Exactly like my presentation pieces and exactly
like the dozens of kg I have sold in the past. I then asked the girl how she
obtained her rock collection and she showed me her collection box with nice
glossy printed cards. The tektite (and hematite) were part of a set that her
father had purchased. Unfortunately, there were no meteorites in the set but
she did have the beginnings of a very nice rock collection.
This reminded me that about four years ago, one boy brought me a glassy
object that looked like it might be a tektite. I sent it to Bill Glass but the
microprobe analysis showed that it was not.
I showed a large slice of Allende and I casually asked if anyone could tell
me waht the large white spots were. After only a few hints, a teacher
correctly guessed calcium (as wel as other elements). Her students were
very impressed!
Again, if you get the chance to present to kids, please consider doing so.
It's a lot of fun and the kids are really interested in the stories with some
meteorites such as El Hammami, Beaver, Canyon Diablo, Claxton, Peekskill, Cape
York, etc.
Best wishes,
-Walter
