Igneous Extrusive!

The samples that are new this week are truly spectacular! Go to "Latest Arrivals" and take a look. All three of the new samples came from lava flows. Two from Hawaii, and one from Wyoming. The stuff doesn't look real! I also am starting to create a small network of sand gatherers! That is so cool! The person who send me the sand from California told her friends, and now they are going to send sand from Tennessee and Ohio, etc. It's what I hoped would happen with the teachers on the various lists. Clear Skies. It's in the single digits here with a stiff wind.

Charlie

Sand Lab

I actually got to teach the sand lab one last time last week! One of the teachers in my former school wanted to give it a try, so I took all of the Atlantic samples from the cellar and brought them in. The results can be seen at http://www.gatesscience.info/project/sand/sandlab.htm
They did a great job! We'll be finishing the lab on Monday. Other breaking news . . . the west coast is complete! Someone sent me a sample from Oregon.

Clear Skies,

Charlie

All the Colors . . .

How true! The samples so far this week are spectacular! There is an almost pure white sample from a silica quarrey in Oklahoma, a green sample from a defunct(?) copper mine in Utah, and a spectacular sample of a beach glass beach from Kauai made from broken bottles! Enjoy!

24 New Samples!

I actually worked yesterday, and the secretary told me to stop by the office before I left. A great person from California had sent me 24 containers of sand from states not already covered. Thank you! I'm all set until spring. But if you have samples you want to send . . .

Size isn't Everything!

Rhode Island may be the smallest state, but for its size, it has the greatest variety of sand. Go to the "latest arrivals" page and look at the variety from this little state. There also is a new sample from Vietnam shown there. A sister of a friend of mine also sent some great images from Torrey Pines State Park in California, so go to California and click on Torrey Pines. Enjoy!

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year one and all! I guess we are entering the dreary time of the year. If you want to help out sand send an old guy some sand, now is the time to do it. With the posting of the Rhode Island samples next week, I am out of samples that people have sent me. If you can still see the ground, meaning you come from someplace warm, sonsider sending me a sample from any mid-Atlantic, or Gulf, or Orgeon state, and I'll be eternally grateful. Send a teabag-sized sample to Charles Lindgren, Gates Intermediate School, 327 First Parish Rd., Scituate, MA 02066.

Clear Skies,

Charlie