In this issue... It s Mini Miners time again!

Transcription

1 Mini Miners Monthly In this issue... It s Mini Miners time again! Welcome back! For a number of months we have had a lot of articles to read. This month we have a lot of fun challenges and activities for you to do. You can do them by yourself. It would be a lot more fun to do them with a friend or friends. Print out as many copies of each page and share them around. Have some mineral fun together! In this issue you will find an easy method for copying mineral drawings. (You can also use this method for copying practically any picture you would like to draw!) We have some secret coded messages for you to crack. There are two secret messages about minerals for you to discover. And there s even more. Check it out. Once again we have some poetry about minerals that has been submitted by our Contributing Editor, Emma Fajcz. What s coming up? Every serious mineral collector must have a library of reference books. Have you looked online at the number of mineral books available??!! Which ones should a collector have? Next month we will have a list of mineral books that would be most helpful to you as you build your mineral collection and mineral knowledge. Names like John Sinkankas, James D. Dana, Herbert Zim, and Charles Sorrell will become very familiar to you. Vol. 8 No. 8

2 observations a brief collection of poems with a mineral and geology theme by Emma Fajcz Mesolite Spicules Grouped together Peppered with dark crystals Arrowheads arranged at angles Weighty. Goodies in Gravel Searching Rows for agate Glancing through gray gravel Just finding some glass and pebbles Futile Scavenging the Shore Investigating Comparing and contrasting Stones that catch my eye

3 Erosion Once towering cliffs Chipped into boulders weathered To the size of sand. The Grand Canyon from the Air Viewing, Admiring Broad, colorful, rugged Cliffs stretching onward for miles Quiet Runaway Discovery Tumbled in a stream I snatch the stone up before It can roll away.

4 Mini Miners Monthly Mystery Mineral: Who Am I? I am lemon yellow and have a resinous luster. I am often found in salt domes. I am also found at the vents of volcanoes. If you touch me with your warm hand, my surface will crack. You might even be able to hear the crackling! A match will set me on fire. When I burn, I smell like rotten eggs. I am an element. Who am I? Mystery Mineral: Who Am I? I am extremely rare. I was discovered in San Benito County, California. I have also been found in Japan and Arkansas. I am blue and when clear, can be cut as a gemstone. I am found in the rock serpentinite. I am the official State Gem of California. Who am I? Mystery Mineral: Who Am I? I am often found with the mineral you see above. I am found in San Benito County, California. I have also been found in Mont Saint-Hilaire, Quebec and in the Kola Peninsula of Russia. I am very dark red - nearly black. I am found in the rock serpentinite. I was named after Neptune, the god of the sea. Who am I?

5 The Pyrite Squares Challenge You need two people to play this game. Player number 1 makes a line connecting one crystal to another. Then player 2 takes a turn. Whoever makes the line that completes a box writes their initials inside the box. You now have 1 point. The player with the most squares at the end of the game is the Pyrite Champion! 2014 Diamond Dan Publications. All pictures and articles in this newsletter are property of Diamond Dan Publications and cannot be copied or reused in any format (printed or electronic) without written permission of Diamond Dan Publications, 278 Howland Avenue, Rochester, New York or diamonddan@rochester.rr.com. Electronic subscription (PDF) $9.95 for 12 issues. Make checks payable to Diamond Dan Publications or pay by PayPal using the address diamonddan@rochester.rr.com.

6 DRAW THE SPECIMEN A simple and easy way to copy any picture is to take the original and place a grid over it. Then you copy the picture one piece (square) at a time. Try it with this mineral drawing! This is a cerussite specimen from Tsumeb, Namibia, Africa

7 DRAW THE SPECIMEN Here is another specimen for you to draw, one square at a time. This is a specimen of pyrargyrite from Mexico.

8 DRAW THE SPECIMEN And here is one last specimen for you to draw, one square at a time. This specimen is known as the Postage Stamp tourmaline because it was featured on a set of stamps issued in 1972.

9 The How Many Words Challenge How many words can you make using the letters from the sentence below? Good Luck! I REALLY LOVE MINERALS

10 The How Many Words Challenge Part 2 How many words can you make using the letters from the sentence below? Good Luck! QUARTZ IS THE COOLEST

11 Crack the Code Below is a secret code. Use the code to reveal the hidden sentence below. It is a message about quartz (you can color the quartz drawings after you finish the coded message). The key is on the following page.

12 Coded Message Key Here s Another Coded Message

13 MINERAL SILHOUETTE MATCH Draw a line from the mineral drawing to its silhouette. Can you recognize these mineral shapes?

14 SECRET MESSAGE Start at the top and cross out the word CRYSTAL every time you see it. You will come to extra letters as you do this. When you do, write the letter in the circles below. As you do, you will discover a secret message. CRYSTALCRYSTALACRYSTALGCRYSTALCRYSTAL CRYSTALECRYSTALMCRYSTALCRYSTALCRYSTALI CRYSTALSCRYSTALACRYSTALCRYSTALMCRYSTAL CRYSTALCRYSTALICRYSTALNCRYSTALECRYSTAL CRYSTALCRYSTALRCRYSTALCRYSTALACRYSTAL LCRYSTALTCRYSTALCRYSTALHCRYSTALACRYSTAL CRYSTALTCRYSTALHCRYSTALCRYSTALACRYSTAL CRYSTALCRYSTALSCRYSTALBCRYSTALECRYSTALE CRYSTALCRYSTALCRYSTALNCRYSTALCRYSTAL CCRYSTALUCRYSTALCRYSTALCRYSTALTCRYSTALO CRYSTALCRYSTALRCRYSTALPCRYSTALCRYSTAL OCRYSTALLCRYSTALCRYSTALCRYSTALICRYSTALS CRYSTALCRYSTALHCRYSTALECRYSTALCRYSTALD

15 SECRET MESSAGE 2 Start at the top and cross out the word MINERAL every time you see it. You will come to extra letters as you do this. When you do, write the letter in the circles below. As you do, you will discover a secret message. MINERALMINERALAMINERALRMINERALMINERALO MINERALCMINERALMINERALMINERALK MINERALIMINERALMINERALSMINERALNMINERAL MINERALOMINERALTMINERALAMINERALMINERAL MMINERALMINERALIMINERALNMINERALMINERAL MINERALEMINERALRMINERALMINERALAMINERAL LMINERALMINERALRMINERALOMINERALCMINERAL MINERALMINERALKMINERALMINERALSMINERALA MINERALRMINERALMINERALEMINERALMINERAL MINERALMMINERALAMINERALMINERALDMINERAL EMINERALMINERALOMINERALFMINERALMINERAL MINERALOMINERALNMINERALMINERALEMINERALO MINERALMINERALRMINERALMINERALMMINERAL MINERALMINERALOMINERALMINERALRMINERALE MINERALMINERALMMINERALIMINERALMINERALN MINERALEMINERALMINERALRMINERALMINERAL MINERALAMINERALLMINERALMINERALMINERAL MINERALSMINERAL..

16 Homemade Agate Mini Miner Hannah spent one afternoon rolling every kind of Play-Doh together that she had in her room. Then she had an idea to cut it in half. She ended up with Play-Doh agate slices. Thank you, Hannah, for your submission. Can You Help Dan Find the Diamond?

17 Two Great Books One Great Price The Best Bathroom Book for Mineral Collectors Ever Written and Diamond Dan s Mineralogical Dictionary Purchase The Bathroom Book at regular price ($11.95 ppd) and receive the Dictionary at no extra charge! Visit our website to place your order today!