August 13, 2011 - Day 1 of the SMA GeoVenture

By  Dr. Karen Hudson-Edwards
School: University of London, England

Hello and welcome to the GeoVenture Teacher’s Tour 2011 blog. Over the next week we’ll be documenting our trip around Saskatchewan visiting some of the province’s major mines and important geological sites. 

Saturday August 13^th 2011. We met at the Delta Besborough hotel in Saskatoon to kick off the tour with an orientation afternoon. Our trip leader, Pam Schwann, Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Mining Association, gave a comprehensive overview of mining in Saskatchewan. We learned that Saskatchewan is a world leader in mining potash and uranium,  that gold and lignite-grade coal are also extracted, and that the province may soon have its first diamond mine. Through this activity, mining brings significant revenue and jobs to the province, and this is expected to increase over the coming decades as demand for these products grows globally. Our students today could, therefore, be the miners, geologists, engineers, lawyers and other professional workers in Saskatchewan’s mining industry in the future. 

Orientation Session

Following Pam’s introduction, we had our first geological lesson from educational consultant Kate Grapes-Yeo.  Kate first outlined the way that the earth sciences are going to be integrated into the new school curriculum. Then, armed with hand lenses, hand magnets, streak plates, needles, pennies, glass plates and our eyes and fingernails, we determined the colour, hardness, lustre, density, cleavage and magnetism of mystery mineral samples. We were helped in this by Kate, Pam and resource person Karen Hudson-Edwards from the University of London in England. Each group then presented their observations (which we were told we did very well on) and attempted to name the minerals (some of which we got, and some of which we didn’t). Next we tackled the rock cycle, and were given the task of classifying some unknown rock samples as igneous (formed from melted rock known as magma), sedimentary (made up of particles formed from the physical break-up of other rocks, or from chemicals that solidified to form limestones or salts), or metamorphic (formed by subjecting rocks to high pressures and temperatures). Each group got top stars for their efforts! One group tried to fool Karen by getting her to identify an extra ‘rock’ which turned out to be a piece of loose cement taken from the terrace. This ‘rock’ has since been given the honourable name of ‘Cementous Bessbouroughite’. 

Identifying rock samples during Orientation Session

Kate’s last demonstration of the afternoon was a solubility lesson using Saskatchewan potash that could be adapted for several school grade classes. Potash samples are dissolved in water in jars, and when they do so, different-coloured density layers are formed. Light iron oxides float to the top, followed by ‘waste’ clays, and the potassium and sodium salts dissolve into the water. The lesson then follows on to show how the potash industry in Saskatchewan uses the different solubility of potassium and sodium salts to separate these two elements. The iron oxides and clay minerals are filtered out of the mix using a coffee filter, and then the remaining solution is chilled in ice. Potassium chloride salt crystallises first, since it forms at a higher temperature than sodium salts. Kate demonstrated all of this, and we were able to see the white, fluffy potassium chloride precipitate form before our eyes.

Saturday evening we relaxed and got to know each other over a dinner cruise on the Saskatchewan river. Our group of 19 teachers come from different backgrounds and we teach different grades and subjects. This meant we were able to exchange experiences, advice and interesting stories. Then it was early to bed, as we had an early start the next morning.

Supper cruise on Saskatchewan River