Geologist Pin

Not too hard, actually, and can be done cheaply.
Eddy Geology Center has been renovated - go check it out before you take the den - it may be different now. OR call them beforehand.

You can use the handbook for most requirements. You can also use the Gerald C. Eddy Geology Center in Waterloo State Recreation Area (313-475-3170) for some or all the requirements. This is a nature center just west and north of Chelsea off I-94 that has an outdoor display of boulders and an indoor display of rocks, hands-on things to do, a continuous slide show, displays of how rocks are used in daily life, how rocks formed, glaciers, cheap little specimens for sale, and ranger talks. It can be visited winter or summer, usually without a park entry fee. Go as a family or call ahead to schedule a talk for the den (there may be a fee for the dens). Also, the Ann-Arbor Hands-On Museum runs overnight camp-ins for dens at the museum where they do either the Geologist, Engineer, or Scientist pins throughout the school year. Also, the Howell Nature Center does a Webelos program for this pin - good rock pile with fossils for the kids to climb around in and sort through. Also, the U-M Museum of Natural History has a pretty good display of rock specimens for the purposes of this pin. An excellent display, second only to the Smithsonian Museum, can be seen at Cranbrook Museum in Bloomfield Hills, but I would save the trip until Boy Scouts - they do a really great program for the Geology Merit Badge in Boy Scouts.

#1. Give examples of rocks and minerals used in glass, jewelry, roads and fertilizer. See the display at the Geology Center, the handbook, a library book, or a school textbook.

#2. Collect five geologic specimens that have important uses. Kids can buy little specimens at the Geology Center and sometimes at Natural Wonders in Briarwood. Also, look under Rock Shops in the Yellow Pages. The Geology Center has flyers from area mineral societies who have rock swap meets, or you can contact either of these two groups: (1) Midwest Mineralogical & Lapidary Society of Dearborn, phone: 313-278-5063; or (2) Huron Hills Lapidary & Mineral Society 1405 Hewitt Ann Arbor MI 48103, phone: 734-662-6205.

But your child can also collect specimens free at a landscaping business that sells crushed rock. We used Bushel Center of Hollow Trucking Company on Rawsonville Rd. just south of Textile Rd. A lady and her former Eagle Scout son run this place. Her price for letting my supervised child scope out the rock piles was a picture of the Cub Scout in uniform with his rock collection, so she could put it on the bulletin board. Behind the house they have examples of various rock types labeled, so the boy can identify what he picks up, or can just get chips from the sample piles. Keep the child on a short leash and be careful - they have heavy equipment in use.

Your son can also get some specimens at Frank's Nursery. They keep small sample bins of the kinds of crushed stone they sell (marble, limestone, etc.). All that's needed is a chip of each. Pinter's Flowerland on Rawsonville Rd. may be able to spare a few crushed rock samples, too.

Ultimately my son's freebie collection of useful rocks included sodium chloride (rock salt), coal, limestone, quartz, marble, granite, silica, sandstone, slate, shale, mica,and obsidian, plus a purchased souvenir of Upper Peninsula copper.

#3. Make a scale of mineral hardness using things found at home Find the relative hardness of 3 samples.

For this you need a fingernail, a penny, a steel knife blade, an old glass jar or shard, and maybe Mom's diamond ring. Then use the Moh's hardness scale (the scale on page 186 of the handbook). If you'll trust me on this, another source assigned these hardness numbers: fingernail - 2.3, penny - 3.0, knife blade - 5.5 glass - 6.5. Make a number line with the numbers 1 to 10 marked at intervals. Try three of the sample rocks from the collection in #2 with scratches from your fingernail, penny, knife blade and glass. Based on what scratches what, label the number line with the samples. For example, if you have a rock that scratches a penny, but it in turn can be scratched by the knife, it's between 2.3 and 3.0 on the number line.

#4. List some geologic materials used in building your home. See the handbook or the Geology Center exhibit.

#5. Make a drawing that shows the cause of a volcano, a geyser or an earthquake. See the handbook, or the 4th grade science book, or a library book, or maybe The Magic Schoolbus Blows Its Top or The Magic Schoolbus Inside the Earth . Also see the Geology Center exhibit.

#6. Explain one way in which mountains are formed. See the handbook or the suggestions in #5.

Other Resources

Geologist Eddy Geology Center, Waterloo State Rec Area great for
do it yourself, or pay for a ranger program. Indoors.

Ann Arbor Hands On Museum Webelos overnights -
register early they fill up fast, fee per kid.

Kensington Metropark - 2 or 3 times a year - call
and get on mailing list so you can plan ahead

Howell Nature Center - call for dates, fees

Have Questions? Need Help?