Blue Ridge Parkway and Museum of North Carolina Minerals
Students from a five county region actively attend this Museum for experiential learning and are introduced to the wealth of cultural and natural resources of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Preview your trip on the web: Blue Ridge Parkway and Museum of North Carolina Minerals
Learn more
- Mineralogy 4 Kids Learn about mineral groups, the rock cycle, or Ask-a-Mineralogist your "rocky" question on the Mineralogical Society of America's site for kids.
- North Carolina Geological Survey Explore the geological maps of North Carolina, learn about the minerals that can be found there, and check out the questions that students are asking geologists.
- Lesson plan: Blue Ridge Parkway Travelogue Students plan and develop a week-long trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway, from beginning to end. The virtual tour culminates in the creation of a travelogue that will outline the trip.
- Lesson plan: Minerals and math Students will develop ways to create self-devised rules for classifying minerals and relate this information to scientific ways of classifying minerals according to their characteristics. They will then compile this information into a chart and convert parts of the chart into a line or bar graph.
- Lesson plan: Learning about rocks In this lesson, students will be engaged in hands-on experiences while they explore rocks.
Related pages
- Gem Mountain Gemstone Mines: Along with panning for gemstone, students will learn about gems and the rich mining heritage in North Carolina.
- Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum: Gems, minerals, fossils, Indian artifacts, and much more can be found at the Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum.
- Rocky Mount Children's Museum and Science Center: Students will love visiting the Rocky Mount Children's Museum and Science Center. The exhibits are fun, hands-on, and engaging.
Related topics
- Learn more about McDowell County, Mitchell County, North Carolina, environmental science, gem stones, geology, history, natural resources, science, and science museums.
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Probably not settled by the Europeans until several years after the Revolutionary War, Crabtree Meadows is a natural stopping place on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway actually straddles the McDowell, Yancey, and Mitchell County lines at this point. Crabtree Meadows is also close to the Museum of North Carolina Minerals, which features artifacts from the nearby Spruce Pine mining district. In the early summer, the Meadows becomes a showplace of wildflowers, including the hawthorne, beard tongue, mountain laurel, and gentian.
The Museum of North Carolina Minerals is located at the junction of the Parkway and North Carolina Highway 226 (milepost 331). The museum has a visitor center and exhibits interesting minerals and precious gems found in North Carolina. A major focus of the museum is on fulfilling the North Carolina standards of learning in Earth Sciences with a curriculum based program at the Museum.
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