Mineralogical Society of America, Founded December 30, 1919

Teaching Mineralogy and Petrology Online

Suggestions from the MSA Community via MSA-Talk

Click This Link For Teaching Suggestions

updated 09-16-2020

    Mineralogy and Petrology Academy

    1. Public access Mineralogy/Mineral Science/Earth Materials videos by MSA members and others to supplement classes in mineralogy and petrology. Students anywhere can use these to study, or instructors can use them for their courses.
      Keith Putirka and Rachel Teasdale are collecting and posting these brief (mostly <10 min) videos for the community to use to supplement classes in Mineralogy, Earth Materials and Petrology. They expect to post at least 5-10 new videos each week and welcome new contributions as the site would be greatly strengthened by a diversity of ideas and contributors. If interested, contact contact Keith Putirka or Rachel Teasdale for more details, and take a look at the videos posted thus far (or Khan’s videos at Khan Academy). They look forward to your participation in using or contributing to the video collection!

    Videos for Children, Teachers and Parents

    from Ethan Baxter: Every Rock Has a Story
    1. Ethan's YouTube Channel with 44 episodes
    2. Parent/Teacher Guide to the Videos
    3. Ethan's website with additional teaching resources
    from Mike Sammartano: What is Earth Science?
    1. YouTube Channel exploring minerals with 8 episodes
    2. YouTube Channel on geology, astronomy, and meteorology
    from the University of Texas at Dallas YouTube Channel
    1. Introductory video on lithium
    2. Textbook and Textbook Illustrations (free)

      1. Mineralogy (2020) (Dexter Perkins, University of North Dakota)
      2. Online images, animations, and videos from Mineralogy & Optical Mineralogy (Dyar, Gunter & Tasa)
      3. Online interactive petrology text (Brady). For access:
      4. Username: jbrady-guest
        Password: ReadMyT3xt

      5. Principles of Stable Isotope Geochemistry, 2nd Edition (Zachary Sharp, University of New Mexico)
      6. Guide to Thin Section Microscopy (Raith, Raase & Reinhardt)
      7. Teaching Mineralogy (Brady, Mogk & Perkins)

      Downloadable, interactive programs

      1. Euhedra: Interactive Crystal Models for Teaching Symmetry

      Minerals and Rocks on Sketchfab

      1. Searchable catalog of 3D digital models hosted on Sketchfab.com as a Google Sheet. Models include minerals, igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Should you need to cite this catalog, please use: Andrews, Graham, Brueseke, Matthew, Himelstein, Anna, & McFarland, Robert Ian. (2020). Sketchfab.com rock & mineral catalog (Version 1.0) (Data set). Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3988525.
      2. Sketchfab Rocks and Minerals (Dexter Perkins)
      3. Sketchfab Volcanology and petrology Lab (West Virginia University)
      4. Sketchfab Geologic Models + rock features (Lina Jakaite)
      5. Sketchfab Rocks, rock features (Daren Nelson)
      6. Sketchfab Rocks (Rolley)
      7. Sketchfab Rocks, rock features, outcrops (Callan Bentley)
      8. Sketchfab Rocks + fossils (University of Freiberg)
      9. Sketchfab Geologic Block Models
      10. Sketchfab Rocks (Gigpan by photographer Ron Schott)
      11. Sketchfab Sedimentary Rock Structures (Art Willow)
      12. Sketchfab Chemical and Biochemical Sedimentary Rocks (Art Willow)
      13. Sketchfab Sedimentary Rock Structures (Art Willow)
      14. Sketchfab Detrital Clastic Sedimentary Rocks (Art Willow)
      15. Sketchfab Minerals (Art Willow)
      16. Sketchfab Rocks and Minerals (Penn State-Harrisburg)

      Fossils on Sketchfab

      1. Fossils in Shropshire, UK
      2. Fossils from the National Museum Wales, UK
      3. Fossils from the Lapworth Museum of Geology, Birmingham, UK
      4. Fossil models from an avocational paleontologist
      5. Fossil models from the University of Freiberg, Germany
      6. Assorted fossil models
      7. Assorted fossil models from Digital Atlas of Ancient Life
      8. Assorted fossil models from Alaska National Parks Geology

      Additional Sites to Aid Online Mineralogy/Petrology Teaching

      1. Why minerals have the colors they do by George Rossman
      2. Thin section scans
      3. Extensive resources on minerals, including photos, databases, articles, and more
      4. Wide variety of resources on minerals, including photos, compositions
      5. Easy to use mineral database
      6. Online mineral quizzes
      7. Rock, mineral, and fossil photos with explanations
      8. Thin sections with some Becke line images
      9. Mineral Identification Key
      10. A draft module about thin sections, microscopes, and optical microscopy
      11. Videos of minerals in thin section
      12. Thin section scans
      13. Virtual Microscopy for Geosciences
      14. Virtual microscope for rocks in thin section
      15. Optical crystallography
      16. Earth Optics videos
      17. Earth Optics Learning Goals
      18. SERC: Igneous rocks
      19. SERC: Geochemistry of mid-ocean ridge basalts
      20. SERC: Central American volcanic arc
      21. SERC: Cenozoic volcanic history of the western U.S.
      22. SERC: Compositional diversity in volcanic suites
      23. M&M Magma Chamber Exercise video
      24. Mineralogy4Kids: Teaching resource for mineralogy and petrology for children