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« InTeGrate: Human's Dependence on Earth's Mineral Resources Discussion

Muffin Mining Alternatives  

During the webinar, a number of participants mentioned issues with the Muffin Mining Activity (Unit 3, Activity 3.1), including food allergies and waste. What are some alternatives to using muffins? Add your ideas and comment on other ideas below!

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As I understand it, the idea of "muffin mining" is to give students a physical analog of a section of the crust in which a mineral deposit may occur at various depths and orientations. It seems to me that a similar model could be constructed from Lego bricks, in which one color represents the deposit and other colors are used for the country rock. Students could disassemble the block to locate the deposits just as they would "excavate" the muffin. Legos would avoid the problems of food intolerance and waste, and students could also be directed to disassemble the crustal block in specific ways, perhaps mimicking the geographic or legal constraints placed on actual mineral exploration. I don't know if anyone has tried this but it seems worth a try. Thanks!

13089:36576

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Originally Posted by James Ebert


Another possibility might be a mixture of sand and iron filings? The volume ratio between the two could be varied to show a range of ore grades. Separation (obviously) would be with a magnet, but it would be best to have the magnet in a plastic bag to ease "extraction."



(This reply got mixed into a different thread so I'm quoting it over here). Iron sounds much more allergy friendly than muffins! But I wonder if that makes the every day item component of the activity less friendly. Has anyone tried this?

13089:36594

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Using Lego's is an interesting way of approaching the mining of deposits, however the concepts of determining where to search and limiting the land waste is lost.
I saw a presentation about using a sandbox for classroom use. Something similar on a large scale for a class activity where they whole class works together to investigate the area for mining.

Or instead of muffins for individuals you can make a cheap cake for groups. Maybe add the challenge of teams are to meet the goals of excavating the most resource deposit with the least amount of land wastage. And then add the straws/toothpicks as to which way to investigate where to mine. Then put prices on everything so that they compete (kids like to win at games) on who found the most with the least amount of waste...

13089:36597

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This post was edited by Nina Kaushikkar on Nov, 2019
Originally Posted by Katherine Ocker Stone


Using Lego's is an interesting way of approaching the mining of deposits, however the concepts of determining where to search and limiting the land waste is lost.
I saw a presentation about using a sandbox for classroom use. Something similar on a large scale for a class activity where they whole class works together to investigate the area for mining.

Or instead of muffins for individuals you can make a cheap cake for groups. Maybe add the challenge of teams are to meet the goals of excavating the most resource deposit with the least amount of land wastage. And then add the straws/toothpicks as to which way to investigate where to mine. Then put prices on everything so that they compete (kids like to win at games) on who found the most with the least amount of waste...



Katherine - were they using a regular sandbox, or some sort of augmented reality box? (There was a workshop on those last year at EER: https://serc.carleton.edu/earth_rendezvous/2017/program/posters/wednesday/174... )If you remember where the presentation was, I'd love to hear more about how they set up the box before the activity. Or if anyone else has done that, how do you set up the deposits?

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These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »