Museums

Resources – Educational

It is our intention that the CCFMS be the go-to resource for minerals, rockhounding and lapidary for our CCFMS-affiliated clubs (located in Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec). These educational resources are curated and maintained by the Central Canadian Federation of Mineralogical Societies for the benefit of its affiliated clubs.

These educational resources are organized by topic and provider. Each entry includes a brief description to help clubs quickly identify useful materials. Links are grouped alphabetically for easy reference

Check out our other Resource pages: Resources – References, Resources – Museums, Resources – Collecting Sites, and Resources – Incorporation

If you notice a broken link, please let us know in the comments section at the bottom of the homepage. Feel free to also explore the French Resource pages.

Educational Resources

There are numerous websites that host all sorts of educational resources related to rocks, minerals, fossils, and mineral resources. A selection of these websites is listed below, in alphabetic order of the organization that hosts the website. The actual resources offered by each are too abundant and diverse to cite individually. See the list below the featured resource.

educational - minerals

Featured Learning Resource: Mining Matters

Home | Mining Matters
Mining Matters is a great Canadian charitable organization dedicated to educating young people to develop knowledge and awareness of Earth sciences, the minerals industry and their roles in society.

  • American Geosciences Institute
    • https://www.americangeosciences.org/
    • This website has links to topics under three headings: for students and educators; for geoscience professionals; and for the public. Each of these headings links to subheadings that include reference material, lesson plans, and a range of other resources.
  • APGO Education Foundation
    • https://geoscienceinfo.com/
    • GeoscienceINFO is funded by the APGO Education Foundation, an offshoot of Professional Geoscientists Ontario. It includes 17 virtual field trips,11 geotrails in southern Ontario, 5 urban geotrails, videos, and more than 40 blogs about various topics related to geoscience.
  • Avas Flowers
    • https://www.avasflowers.net/blog/all-about-rocks-and-rock-collecting/
    • The website of this Delaware-based floral shop has a blog entitled “All About Rocks and Rock Collecting.” It has background information about rocks, how they form, and how to collect them. Each section also has links to other websites with additional information, along with educational resources and activities.
  • British Geological Survey
    • https://www.bgs.ac.uk/discovering-geology/
    • The British Geological Survey’s website “Discovering Geology” introduces geoscience topics to school-age students. It is also suitable for learners of all ages. It explores the processes that shape our landscapes and how our planet’s diverse range of rocks and minerals formed. In addition, it explains why learning from the past is the key to understanding our sustainable future. The background information is complemented by activities appropriate for students of various ages.
  • Canada (Ontario) Beneath Our Feet
    • https://www.ontariobeneathourfeet.com/geological-sites
    • Beneath Our Feet website includes 48 short descriptions and photos of sites of geological interest under the heading “Geological Curiosities of Canada.” The same website also includes numerous descriptions of the inter-relationship between plants and the underlying geology, as well as stories about working in the field as a geologist, and about visiting communities in the Far North of Ontario.
  • Canadian Geosciences Education Network
    • https://www.edgeo.org/en_CA/index.html
    • EdGEO is an organization that supports local workshops on earth science for teachers across Canada. The Resources page at this website contains classroom-ready activities that value hands-on activities where students learn through experience.
  • Cool Kid Facts
    • https://www.coolkidfacts.com/rocks-and-minerals/
    • Cool Kid Facts was created in the United States as a free educational resource for teachers, students and the public at large to learn more about the world around them. It covers a range of subjects including topics related to the earth sciences. There are descriptions, images and diagrams for each topic.
  • Every Rock Has A Story
    • https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl0Zrg9JFh5o4SPg94veh0w
    • Ethan Baxter, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Boston College, began creating videos in 2020 to provide educational content for everyone adjusting to at-home learning. He has since included diverse co-hosts in their labs and at field sites across the country. Every Rock Has A Story is sponsored by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers.
  • International Gemstone Society
    • https://www.gemsociety.org/jewelry-lapidary/
    • The International Gem Society’s website has a “learning centre” with information about jewellery, gemmology, and lapidary. It also has a gemstone library with detailed information about more than 300 different gemstones, plus a gemstone photo gallery and information about birthstones.
  • One Geology
    • https://onegeology.org/kids2/english/home.html
    • One Geology is an international initiative of the world’s geological surveys and other geoscience organisations. It is hosted by the British Geological Survey. Its aim is to provide access to global geoscience data. One Geology Kids is a subset of the overall One Geology program. It provides educational resources aimed at children 10 years of age and younger.
  • Paleontological Research Institution
    • https://www.priweb.org/learn-and-teach/overview
    • The Paleontological Research Institution, based in Ithica, New York, offers on-line information about earth history, along with teacher-friendly guides related to earth history, fossils, and climate change. This website also has a digital atlas of fossils.
  • The Geological Society of London
    • https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/education-and-resources/
    • This interesting site has background information about the earth sciences; educational resources for primary and secondary schools; information about careers in the earth sciences; and links to various relevant topics.
  • U.S. Career Institute
    • https://www.uscareerinstitute.edu/library/a-career-in-geology
    • Although one might expect a website hosted by the US Career Institute to have information about careers in geoscience, there is very little relevant information. Instead, this website offers many links to other websites with information about rocks, minerals, geological processes, and mineral resources.
  • United States Geological Survey
    • https://www.usgs.gov/educational-resources
    • The United States Geological Survey (USGS) website has links to resources related to topics including geology, natural hazards, mineral resources, and geography. Depending upon the topic, there the resources may include background information, lesson plans, videos, or other resources.
  • University of Toronto
    • https://planetrocks.utsc.utoronto.ca/index.html
    • Ontario has one of the best backyards in the world! Its rocks and landscapes record 3 billion years of Earth’s history. The Let’s Rock Ontario website hosted by the University of Toronto is a guide to geological features from across the province. Click on the “Explore” button to get the locations of hundreds of sites of geological and historical interest from across Ontario.