What Is a Mineral? Smithsonian Video

Did you know that minerals are all around us? Minerals are the building blocks that make up rocks! They are the ores that we extract metals from to make electronics. They’re in the soils we need to grow the plants we eat for food. They’re even in our jewelry and makeup! ​But, what is a mineral?

In this video, Mineralogist Dr. Gabriela Farfan from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History describes the five characteristics that all minerals have in common while sharing mineral specimens like the Berns Quartz from the museum's collection.

This video is designed for students in Grades 3-5. After watching this video, students will be able to identify the shared features of all minerals, recall mineral uses, and know that minerals are all around us.

This video complements the museum’s free school programs for students in grades 3-5:

- Identifying Minerals: An in-person school program where students classify a variety of minerals by testing their luster, streak, hardness, color, and magnetism.

- Rocks & Minerals: An online program where students virtually visit the Museum's Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals and, with a museum educator and their classmates,  use problem-solving skills to unlock the mystery of different rocks, minerals, and their uses.

Learn more about these and other free school programs and resources for students: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/educati...