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American Museum of Natural History

All That Glitters (Science World)

all-that-glitters_thumb

Did you know that all of the mined gold in the world could easily fit inside your school's gym? Find out what it takes to turn this precious metal into trophies and jewelry.


All That Glitters (Science World)

  • More About This Resource...

    • This online article is from the Museum's Science Explorations, a collaboration between AMNH and Scholastic designed to promote science literacy. Written for students in grades 3-6, this article from SuperScience magazine has the following content.

      • An in-depth look at how gold located miles beneath the Earth's surface move upward, are mined, and then are crafted into gold objects
      • Two five-step summarys—How Gold Forms and The Making of An Oscar Statuette
      • A collection of fun facts called Gold Nuggets

    • Completion Time

      Less than 1 period

    • Teacher Tip

      Supplement a study of Earth science or chemistry with an activity drawn from this online Science Explorations article.

      1. Ask students: What do the Olympic Games, the Academy Awards, and soccer's World Cup have in common? [The most-prized award for each event contains gold]. What is the symbol for gold used in the periodic table of the elements? [Au].
      2. Send students to this online article, or print copies of it for them to read.
      3. Working individually or in small groups, have students visit the museums' Gold exhibit web site and create their own list of five additional Gold Nuggets.

    • Topic

      Earth Science

    • Subtopic

      Minerals and Resources