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The Virtual Museum of Minerals and Molecules
http://virtual-museum.soils.wisc.edu/displays.html
From DLESE Community Collection (DCC)
Comment on this resource
The 3-D visualizations of molecules and minerals at this site utilize a plug-in viewer, which allows them to be interactively zoomed and rotated so they can be viewed from all angles, much as with a real molecule. They can also be programmed with highlighting features that allow identification of specific atoms, structural sub-components, and mineralogical planes. The visualizations are incorporated into stand-alone HTML instructional modules that combine text, graphics, molecular formulae, highlighting features, electron micrographs, and other appropriate instructional aids and materials. The mineral wing of the museum contains ten galleries within the Minerals Wing and eight galleries in the Organic Molecule Wing. Individual mineral displays range from hematite to cristobalite.
Intended for grade levels:
  • Middle (6-8)
  • High (9-12)
  • College (13-14)
Type of resource:
  • Visual:
    • Illustration - scientific
  • Text:
    • Ref. material
Subject:
  • Geological Sciences:
    • Mineralogy or petrology
Technical requirements:
Jmol applet, which runs on Macs, PCs, and Linux browsers for which Java is installed and JavaScript is enabled.
Cost / Copyright:
No cost
These files are not public property and all rights are reserved to their authors, The Minerals & Molecules Project. They may not be modified or used in a distributed work without written permission from their authors. This means that the files may not be copied and added to other web pages accessible on the world wide web without permission; the files may also not be copied to disk or CD-ROM for distribution without permission. Direct links to these files, however, are welcome and efforts will be made to keep them available at their current locations.
DLESE Catalog ID: DLESE-000-000-006-385
Educational standards:
  • National Science Education Standards (NSES):
    • 5-8:
      • Unifying concepts and processes:
        • Evidence, models, and explanation
      • B - Physical science:
        • Properties and changes of properties in matter
    • 9-12:
      • Unifying concepts and processes:
        • Evidence, models, and explanation
      • D - Earth and space science:
        • Origin and evolution of the earth system
Resource contact / Creator / Publisher:
Publisher: The Minerals & Molecules Project


Contact: Phillip Barak
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Contact: Ed Nater
University of Minnesota-TC