Mineral Resources Museum
Students identify a (legal) product that they have brought to college, one that contains some kind of mineral resource (e.g. something with glass, aluminum, steel). They trace the sources and the history of the materials that compose the project. Finally, they prepare the object for display, writing a display label and a short explanation of their results.
Students will use (and evaluate) different information sources in tracking the materials used in their object of choice.
Students will complete a source-to-sink analysis for a familiar object.
Students will write the same material in (at least) three different ways, aimed at (at least) two different audiences.
Students will collaborate on exhibition design.
Students will peer-review each others' exhibit labels and explanations.
Context for Use
I anticipate that this activity will, first of all, be a homework assignment that could be completed in a weekend. Students will spend parts of 2-3 weeks writing display materials and critiquing each others' work, with a final display mounted near the end of the Carleton trimester.
Description and Teaching Materials
Teaching Notes and Tips
Once an object has been identified, it may be more-or-less challenging to find out information about the exact source of the materials and how they have been processed. Students may need help moving back-and-forth between the particularities of their object and its creation and the general world of material origins: in other words, moving between "this particular object contains mercury mined in California at xxx site" and "compact fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, whose source is likely to be one of the following regions: . . "
This assignment can be integrated into a dorm room inventory or livelihood map (see http://serc.carleton.edu/acm_face/sustainability/workshop10/courses/46136.html and links for information about one such assignment). Jim Farrell, St. Olaf College, is a good contact for similar assignments.
References and Resources
Farrell, James, (expected publication October 2010), The Nature of College.
Ryan, John C. and Alan Thein Durning, 1997, Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things: Northwest Environment, 88 p.
Serrell, Beverly, 1996, Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach: Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 265 p.
People interested in this assignment may also be interested in other activities from the broader collections, including:
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/indoorlabs/examples/25101.html (a natural resources mini-project) and http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/enviroprojects/index.html
(examples of the lifestyle project from several institutions; part of "experience-based environmental projects.")