GOLD Online Resources

From the American Museum of Natural History:

OLogy
ology.amnh.org
Explore the Museum's website for kids for information and activities on geology, natural resources, archaeology, and more. Check out the features titled Earth: Our World in Motion, Archaeology: Clues from the Past, and What's This?.
Science Explorations Web Quests
teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorations/webquests.htm
Go on this virtual trip to the Museum to learn more about gold and investigate other precious minerals and metals from the Earth.

Science:

Archimedes: The Golden Crown
math.nyu.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/Crown/CrownIntro.html
A math-based reference that investigates the truth and tall tales behind Archimedes' uncovering of a fraudulent gold crown in 1 B.C.
Chemicool: Interactive Periodic Table of Elements
www.chemicool.com/
The graphic base of this website is the periodic table. Click on any element to see its physical and chemical properties.
The Educator's Reference Desk: Mineral Identification Lab
www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Geology/GLG0201.html
This lesson plan has students grades 6-12 use the Amethyst Galleries' database web site (no real minerals necessary) to identify minerals based on properties such as streak, hardness, and color. Using what they have learned, students must then identify the difference between gold and pyrite.
Homestake Mining Company: Geology of the McLaughlin Gold Deposit
nrs.ucdavis.edu/mclaughlin/naturalhis/region/region1.htm
The famous Homestake mine in Northern California has assembled a website with maps, photos, and geological diagrams of its many mineral assets, including gold.
National Geographic Xpeditions: The Quest for Gold
www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/16/questgold.html
This site offers background and activities for younger kids, older kids, and parents focused on gold's cultural value. Numerous links on gold mining, environmental concerns, and stories about U.S. gold rushes are listed.
New York Mineralogical Club: New York City Mineral Specimens
www.dukelabs.com/NYC Minerals/NYCmins.html
The New York Mineralogical Club has put its collection online. Students may be surprised to find what specimens have been unearthed from the crystalline bedrock underlying this urban landscape.
Women in Mining: Minerals and their Products
www.womeninmining.org/products.htm
Users can click through a list of minerals to learn their uses, availability, and methods of extraction.

Cultural:

Anistoriton: Oldest gold found in Varna, Bulgaria
www.anistor.co.hol.gr/english/enback/o033.htm
Varna's place in early history (4500-4000 BCE) is explored with these ancient gold discoveries from a Bulgarian cemetery. Beautiful photos.
Coin Gallery Online: The Earliest Coins
www.coin-gallery.com/cgearlycoins.htm
The website describes the development of metal coinage from 600 BC in the Middle East.
Deer Creek School: Our California Gold Rush Community
www.ncgold.com/goldrushtown/index.html
A school in Nevada City, California has created a website about its townąs gold rush history.
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Timeline of Art History
www.metmuseum.org/toah/hi/m.htm#mego
The Met's award-winning website has plenty of resources about gold and other precious metals the world over. Scroll down to "Metalwork: Gold."
New York Times: The Cost of Gold
www.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2005/10/25/international/20051025_GOLD_FEATURE.html
www.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2005/10/24/international/20051024_GOLD_FEATURE.html
These terrific interactives explore the current-day state and consequences of gold and gold mining around the world, explaining why it takes 30 tons of rock to extract an ounce of gold.
No Dirty Gold
www.nodirtygold.org/
This advocacy campaign is a joint effort between Earthworks and Oxfam America. Its goal is to alert consumers and retailers to the environmental, economic, and social issues of gold mining.
PBS: Archives of the West 1848-1856
www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/three/
Explore photography, journal entries, and other documents of California gold rush prospector William Swain.
PBS Frontline: Peru-The Curse of Inca Gold
www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/peru404
This site accompanies the 2005 PBS production on the Yanacocha gold mine in Peru, which is operated by Newmont Mining Corporation, the largest gold mining company in the world. The site contains articles on the history and the environmental costs of gold mining and links to resources on both gold and Peru.
United States Geological Survey: Gold
pubs.usgs.gov/gip/prospect1/goldgip.html
This article provides a history of gold as well as information about mining locations in the United States.
World Gold Council
www.gold.org
This website, funded by gold mining companies, covers industrial uses of gold as well its use in the ancient world, gold production throughout history, and jewelry-making methods. The site also includes a chronology of the role of gold in the international monetary system.