NC Geological Survey Education Resources
The North Carolina Geological Survey's Education and Outreach program is dedicated to supporting educators, students, and citizens throughout North Carolina. Our E&O program aims to provide resources, programs, and events to connect and engage communities, schools, and citizens with geoscience information and resources. If you have questions or comments about the resources below or about our education and outreach program, please email Education and Outreach Geologist Amy Pitts.
Geoscience Factsheets
Critical minerals and rare earth elements are a hot topic in science and politics. We're taking a deeper dive into these geologic resources with a series of factsheets on what they are, why they're called critical, where they're found, and what we use them for.
- Part 1: An Overview of Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements
- Part 2: Earth MRI
- Part 3: North Carolina's Role (Coming Soon)
In Latin, "ignis" means fire! Igneous rocks form when magma and lava from deep within Earth cool and solidify.
Learn all about these rocks and the processes that form them in our Igneous Rocks factsheet.
It can take millions of years for sedimentary rocks to form but maybe even more amazing is the fact that sedimentary rocks contain fossils!
Learn all about sedimentary rocks in our Sedimentary Rocks factsheet.
Metamorphic rocks begin their lives as one type of rock and metamorphose, or change, into other rocks because of heat and pressure inside Earth.
Learn all about metamorphic rocks in our Metamorphic Rocks factsheet.
Emeralds, sometimes called the "King of Jewels" have been prized throughout human history. Not only is the emerald the State Gemstone of North Carolina, but the largest emerald ever discovered came from Hiddenite and was 1,438 carats!
Learn all about our State Gemstone in our Emeralds Factsheet.
Have you ever wondered how, why, and where earthquakes happen? Did you know the largest earthquake ever recorded on Earth happened in Chile in 1960?
Learn all about earthquakes - the how, why, and where - in our Earthquakes Factsheet.
In August 2020, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake occurred in Sparta, NC (Alleghany County).
Find out more information about this earthquake in our 10 Quick Facts About the Sparta Earthquake Factsheet.
Lithium is a metallic element that is useful in so many products, most notably in batteries. Have you wondered where lithium comes from and how it's mined?
Learn all about lithium and its occurrence in North Carolina in our Lithium in North Carolina Factsheet.
Geologic resources are necessary for so many items and products - including fireworks! Minerals are necessary to make the colors, the flashes, the sparkles, and the bangs of pyrotechnics.
Find out more in our The Geology of Fireworks Factsheet.
Interactive Educational Content
Explore more geoscience topics with our interactive ESRI Storymaps. You don't need to be a ArcGIS user and do not need an ArcGIS account to view this content. Feel free to use these Storymaps in your Earth Science lessons.
This interactive Storymap is a brief look at what minerals and rocks are, how they're related, and most importantly why they're so important! Don't get scared by the brief chemistry lesson at the beginning - chemistry is essential to understand geology.
Learn more about rocks and minerals in our Rock or Mineral? Storymap.
Produced for Earth Day, this Storymap is a tale of geology and the environment. There are so many geologic resources that play a role in our lives and we need to be aware of how we might protect the environment while providing geologic resources for our societies.
Learn more in our Geology & The Environment Storymap.
Why has this specific mineral captured human's attention for at least 4,000 years? Why do we value it as the "gold standard" of all things luxurious?
Find out the answers to these questions and much, much more in our The Gold Standard Storymap.
The first gold rush occurred in North Carolina - how cool is that? North Carolina was the only gold-producing state in the U.S. from 1803-1828. There was even a branch of the US Mint in Charlotte that coined nearly $5 million dollars worth of gold up until the start of the civil war in 1861.
Find out about all of this and much, much more in our North Carolina Gold Storymap.
What exactly IS a mineral? They are literally everywhere and in just about everything, yet most people don't know much about them and how critically important they are to our lives and societies.
Learn all about minerals and even the ones we have right here in North Carolina in our Mineral Mayhem Storymap.
Maps, especially geologic maps, are vital to the work of geologists. Geologic maps are the best way for us to communicate geologic information. But what exactly IS a geologic map and how does it differ from other maps? What information does a geologic map relay?
Learn all about these questions and more in our Geologic Maps Storymap.
All building stones are rocks but not all rocks can be building stones. What is the fundamental difference between the two and how have building stones been used in Raleigh?
We think you'll be surprised by all the history of the building stones of downtown Raleigh. Join us virtually for a tour of the building stones of beautiful downtown Raleigh, NC in our Downtown Raleigh ROCKS Storymap. If you're interested in taking a tour with a geologist, contact Amy Pitts at amy.pitts@deq.nc.gov for more information.
Fun for All!
- Our Geology Rocks! Activity Packet is filled with word searches, cryptograms, coloring pages, and geoscience fun for all ages!
- Don't let our Rock and Mineral Crossword Puzzle puzzle you!
- Kids of all ages can have fun finding geoscience words in our Word Search
- Help Rocky dig his way through tunnels to find gold in this Gold Rush Maze
- We're not being cryptic, but you might want to solve this cryptogram about volcanoes - see if you can solve the Pumice Puzzle
- Check out The Geology in Your Classroom if you're interested in learning about all the geologic resources that are all around you in your classroom
Lessons and Activities
One of the priorities of our Education and Outreach program is to supply content, ideas, and activities to educators who teach any of the earth sciences. We do our best to pair each of our lessons and/or activities to the NC DPI Science Standards. If you have any ideas for activities or if we can help you create content, please let us know.
4th - 6th Grade
A hands-on race to the finish game to learn about rocks, rock formation, and the rock cycle.
- Targeted grade level(s): 4th and 6th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s): ESS.4.2.2
- Rock Cycle Race Game
A hand-on race to the finish game to learn all about plate tectonics.
- Targeted grade level(s): 4th and 6th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s): ESS.6.2.2
- Plate Tectonics Race Game
A hands-on activity for students to journey through the rock cycle by rolling dice and recording their journey.
- Targeted grade level(s): 4th and 6th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s): ESS.4.2.2
- Rock Cycle Dice Game
This activity gives students a physical model to help them understand the logarithmic increase of energy released during large earthquakes by breaking, or attempting to break, strands of uncooked spaghetti.
- Targeted grade level(s): 6th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s):
- PS.6.3.1: Use models of a simple wave to explain wave properties in seismic, light, and sound waves that include: waves having a repeating pattern with a specific amplitude, frequency, and wavelength, and the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy of the wave
- ESS.6.2.2: Construct an explanation to illustrate how the movement of lithospheric plates can create geologic landforms and cause major geologic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
- Pasta Quake Activity
This hands-on activity will allow students to explore and graph the ages of the rocks that make up the Atlantic Ocean floor between North America, Africa, and Europe.
- Targeted grade level(s): 6th and 8th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s):
- ESS.6.2.2: Construct an explanation to illustrate how the movement of lithospheric plates can create geologic landforms and cause major geologic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
- ESS.8.1.1: Analyze and interpret data to conclude the relative age of Earth and relative age of rocks and fossils from index fossils and ordering of rock layers
- Atlantic Seafloor Age Activity
Coming Soon!
6th - 8th Grade
This hands-on activity allows students to gain an understanding of how old Earth is, to demonstrate the large expanses of time between Earth events, and to show how life has evolved and changed over geologic time using a scaled model of geologic time. This activity also incorporates math and arts.
- Targeted grade level(s): 8th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s):
- ESS.8.1: Understand the history of Earth and its life forms based on evidence of change recorded in fossil records and landforms
- ESS.8.1.1: Analyze and interpret data to conclude the relative age of Earth and relative age of rocks and fossils from index fossils and ordering of rock layers
- Geologic Timescale Activity
This hands-on activity will allow students to explore and graph the ages of the rocks that make up the Atlantic Ocean floor between North America, Africa, and Europe.
- Targeted grade level(s): 6th and 8th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s):
- ESS.6.2.2: Construct an explanation to illustrate how the movement of lithospheric plates can create geologic landforms and cause major geologic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
- ESS.8.1.1: Analyze and interpret data to conclude the relative age of Earth and relative age of rocks and fossils from index fossils and ordering of rock layers
- Atlantic Ocean Seafloor Age Activity
9th - 12th Grade
This escape room-style activity is full of puzzles to solve about the everyday uses of geologic resources.
This activity doesn't target a specific EES Science Standard, but is a great way to show students how geology and geologic resources are critical to everyday life.
Objectives of this hands-on activity:
- To learn about Earth's crustal (tectonic) plates
- To use models to explain how plate tectonics influences topography
- Use data to predict the locations of volcanoes and earthquakes based on tectonic plate boundaries
Targeted grade level(s): 9th - 12th
NC DPI Science Standard(s):
- ESS.EES.2: Analyze how the geosphere is shaped by plate tectonics and the rock cycle
- ESS.EES.2.2: Analyze and interpret data to predict locations of volcanoes and earthquakes based on tectonic plate boundaries
Objectives of this hands-on activity:
- to learn about the minerals used to make cell phones
- to learn about rare earth elements and critical minerals used in cell phones
- to learn where those geologic resources are found on Earth
- to learn which cell phone minerals are conflict minerals
- to learn about reducing technology e-waste
- Targeted grade level(s): 9th - 12th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s): ESS.EES. 5, ESS.EES.5.1, ESS.EES.5.5, ESS.EES.5.6, ESS.EES.6
This hands-on activity will allow students to 1) gain an understanding of topographic maps and the information being conveyed on them, 2) demonstrate a basic understanding of how to read a topographic map, and 3) gain an understanding of how to convert 3-D features into 2-D maps.
- Targeted grade level(s): 9th-12th
- NC DPI Science Standard(s):
- ESS.EES.2: Analyze how the geosphere is shaped by plate tectonics and the rock cycle
- ESS.EES.2.4: Carry out investigations to explain how the rock cycle and rates of weathering, erosion, and soil formation influence Earth's systems
- Mt. Idaho Topographic Map
Coming Soon!
Lunchtime Discovery Series
Several current and former NCGS geologists have presented talks for the Lunchtime Discovery Series presented by N.C. Environmental Education and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
- North Carolina Geology Rocks! - Senior Geologist Amy Pitts takes you on a geologic history tour of some of North Carolina's most recognizable landforms, from the Outer Banks to the Blue Ridge Mountains and places in between.
- There's a Lot to See Here: An Introduction to Western North Carolina Geology - Senior Geologist Bart Cattanach introduces us to the geology of western North Carolina.
- Get the Dirt on Forensic Geology at the NC Geological Survey - Dr. Heather Hanna teaches us about how the NC Geological Survey has assisted law enforcement in homicide investigations.
