Stones from the Sky: Introducing Middle School Students to Meteorites

Details Stones from the Sky: Introducing Middle School Students to Meteorites Stones from the Sky: Introducing Middle School Students to Meteorites

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...209.9602s&link_type=abstract

2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #96.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, V

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

We present findings for a piloted outreach program about meteorites. Meteorites are important because they provide a first hand look at material from the early history of our Solar System. Observations suggest that middle school-aged children are naturally interested in meteors and meteorites. Such interest may be tied to the luminous nature of fireballs and bolides that drop stones from space onto the surface of our planet. To this end, a travel or outreach program was designed to further student knowledge concerning these celestial samples. A set of specimens was gathered that introduces students not only to meteorites but to stones often confused for meteorites (“meteor-wrongs”). Materials associated with impact craters were also included in these sets. Individual sample cases include the following fourteen specimens: four meteorites (iron, stony, stony-iron, carbonaceous chondrite), five “meteor-wrongs” (slag, ironstone, diabase, magnetite, illmenite), and five impact crater materials (shattercone, breccia, impactite, impact melt, tektite). After a brief introduction, which includes a look at larger hand samples of meteorites and a Power-Point style presentation, students are separated into groups and encouraged to examine / characterize the suite of specimens. In addition to acquiring an appreciation for meteorites and the craters they can form, students become aware of how to distinguish meteorites from ordinary terrestrial rocks.

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