SME Outreach Resources

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  • 1.  Hybrid cars, cell phones and TVs

    Posted 12-09-2015 02:22 PM

    Laura liked Karen's idea to take apart a TV to show students the minerals that must be mined to make the things we use in our everyday lives. But what about those items that we don't access to (like the inside of a Prius or a Wind Turbine)? These are great examples to start conversations about minerals and mining in our everyday life. Use resources on Minerals Education Coalition's website to expand the topics you can discuss.

     I'll be working with mining engineering students to update these MEC Fact Sheets this year. Please let me know if you'd like to see Fact Sheets on other topics.

    Thanks for the comment, Laura!

    R

    ------------------------------
    Rachel Grimes
    MEC Outreach Coordinator
    SME Inc
    Englewood CO United States
    (303) 948-4247
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  • 2.  RE: Hybrid cars, cell phones and TVs

    Posted 12-09-2015 09:46 PM
    Hi Rachel. The things in your list are complicated many are for things kids may not care about. Would simpler things make a more solid connection?



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  • 3.  RE: Hybrid cars, cell phones and TVs

    Posted 12-18-2015 12:17 PM

    Hi Dan,

    Thanks for starting this discussion!

    The goal of MEC is to be a resource for information on the importance of mining and minerals and to be accessible to all. Rebecca Smith, MEC's Curriculum Coordinator, researches other organizations' educational resources for the best content. MEC shares these resources from its site, so that educators can easily access all the information they need in one place: www.MineralsEducationCoalition.org. 

    The goal is for the diversity of the resources to serve all educators. 

    The Fact Sheets are a great way to show students that minerals are essential to items they use everyday, like cell phones and TVs. Other Fact Sheets, like Wind Turbine or Solar Panel, show that minerals are needed, even for alternative energy.

    This spring, I'll be working with students at the CO School of Mines to update the MEC Fact Sheets. The current Fact Sheets (Cell Phone, CD & DVD, CFL Light Bulb, Hybrid Cars, LED Bulbs, Solar Panel, and Wind Turbine) will be updated and new Fact Sheets may be created.

    What other topics do you all think should be added to the series?

    Althought similar to cell phones, I'd like to see a Fact Sheet for computers/iPads/etc. Do you all have other ideas?

    Let me know your thoughts - you help to shape future MEC materials and programs!

    Thanks,
    Rachel

    ------------------------------
    Rachel Grimes
    MEC Outreach Coordinator
    SME Inc
    Englewood CO United States
    (303) 948-4247

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Hybrid cars, cell phones and TVs

    Posted 12-19-2015 01:20 PM
    Hi Rachel,
    what i was thinking is that the electronics are very complicated devices and have 20+ elements and metals in them.  perhaps simpler items would make a stronger connection. for example:
    Pocket knife - steel for the blades and spring back, pins and bail. horn, wood or plastic handles.
    Flower pot - clay fired in a kiln, may have a glaze to protect the pottery from water or add decoration made from powdered  ..?...with trace elements or pigments that color it 
    Pencil - wood shaft filled with graphite that makes the mark on paper
    Paper - cellulose from ground up wood and clay that makes it smooth and shinny
    water glass - quartz sand,soda ash, dolomite and limestone melted on a bed of molten tin.   http://www.viridianglass.com/Residential/AboutGlass/Pages/HowGlassisMade.aspx  

    -- 
    Dan
    alex18ander@gmail.com
    724-941-6490



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  • 5.  RE: Hybrid cars, cell phones and TVs

    Posted 12-21-2015 03:07 PM
      |   view attached

    These are great examples, thanks Dan! I also want to start a series of handouts similar to the Fact Sheets, but on specific topics, like the attached on Fireworks, And I love your suggestion of paper. Talk about relevant to students! It's a great promotional topic that everyone wants the answer to: What makes paper white?

     

    Did everyone get to see the MEC Mini-lessons posted in the first email in this thread?

    MEC Mini-Lessons

    Bicycle
    Cell Phone
    Soccer
    Television
    Teacher Guide & Answer Keys

    These lessons look at the minerals in specific items, such as the tires of a bike (rubber contains: sulfur, zinc, salt, iodine, and silica from quartz), a soccer ball and the crushed limestone on a sports field.

    Great ideas!
    Thanks,
    Rachel

     




    Attachment(s)

    pdf
    MEC_quick_FactSheet_Fireworks.pdf   502 KB 1 version
    Original Message