Key Concepts

Come Prepared

Teaching in the Exhibition

Be an Exhibition Explorer

Map of the Exhibition

Back in the Classroom

Gold in Many Forms

Mixing Metals

Connections to Other Museum Halls

Glossary & Reference Lists

Standards Correlations

Credits

Back in the Classroom

Use these activities to explore and extend the themes of the GOLD exhibition.

Write a review of the exhibition: Ask students to choose an object they consider the most compelling. From the perspective of either a science writer or a cultural reporter, have students describe the object and its significance. Students can use the exhibition website to remind them of what they saw.

Grow crystals: Pour a cup of water (any temperature) into a foil pie plate. Add table salt and stir until the salt no longer dissolves. Have students observe the plate daily by eye and with a magnifying lens, and record what they see. Have students infer the relationship between the rate of evaporation and crystal size. Students should note that crystals near the edge form more rapidly and are smaller than those in the interior. This occurs because the water evaporates faster near the edges. Students will also note that all crystals maintain their cubic shape no matter the size.

The Archimedes experiment: Relate the story of how Archimedes determined that a gold crown (likely a wreath) commissioned by the king of Syracuse in the first century BC was a fraud. The mathematician discovered that the goldsmith replaced a portion of the quantity of gold he was given to make the crown with an equal mass of silver. Teach concepts of mass, volume, and density by exploring with students the method used by Archimedes to solve the king's problem. (An object will displace its own volume when submerged in water. The object's mass is directly proportional to this volume. Therefore, while the crown's mass was equal to the original gold quantity, its volume was larger as it contained the lighter metal.) A good reference website: The Golden Crown

Corrode metals: Have students soak different metals in salt water for two days to compare how they react to water and oxygen: steel or iron nails/bolts, brass paper fasteners, coins, gold jewelry, etc. (Note: prepare steel objects before class by soaking in vinegar overnight to remove the rust-proof coating and rinsing.) Use the results to explain corrosion and tarnish. See the online glossary for more terms.

Explore the impact of gold mining: The environmental and human impacts of gold mining have been the focus of much attention in recent years. Have students research news articles and other sources to learn about these effects. Does what they learn affect their consumer choices?

Research gold in culture: Have students select a cultural group of interest (Mixtec, Inca, Asante, Japanese, etc.) and research how its artifacts reflect the culture. Students may also research how gold's use has changed in these regions from ancient to contemporary times.

Gold in language: Have students use what they learned in the exhibition to explain the origins and meaning of common phrases such as "mother lode," "mint condition," "fool's gold," "gold standard," and "golden age."

Online Activities

Visit OLogy: Have students explore OLogy, 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?.

Visit Science Explorations Web Quests: Students can go on this virtual trip to the Museum to learn more about gold and investigate other precious minerals and metals from the Earth.