Thursday, September 1, 2016

Minecraft-worthy Geology In The Wrack Line At Sandy Hook, NJ – Part 1 of 5

Now I get it. Those busloads of school kids looking for, of all things, obsidian, as well as shells at Sandy Hook are what the New York Times is calling the Minecraft Generation.

Minecraft is a video game released in 2009 that allows players to build things out textured cubes in a 3D generated world that is now the second best-selling video game in the world.

But its not just virtual Lego. It's now commonly used in schools to “increase kids’ interest in the “STEM” disciplines — science, technology, engineering and math”. Its fans are awaiting a new “Minecraft: Education Edition” that will be released this fall.

One of the sciences children learn about in Minecraft is geology - so effectively that the governments of Sweden, England and Scotland have developed programs that allow players to use local geology while they are playing Minecraft.

There is plenty of Minecraft-worthy geology at Sandy Hook too. You can walk along its ocean and bay beaches and see rocks from all four geological provinces in NJ. The next four parts of this blog will help you prepare for your #deeptime #geowalk – along a timeline from a few thousand to over half a billion years old.

Part 2: Glauconite



Part 3: Iron, Sandstone and Quartz



Part 4: Basalt and Diabase, Schist, Gneiss, Granite, Limestone, Pumice, and Scoria


Part 5: Coal and Tarballs


The other four parts of this blog are at http://pehealthnj.blogspot.com/ .


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