It’s not every day that cookies are part of the lesson plan in Mrs. Ellis’ classroom at St. Mary School in Fort Frances, Ontario.
“The students used cookies to demonstrate extracting minerals from rocks,” said teacher Brandi Ellis. “They had so much fun picking out the chocolate chip ‘minerals’ from the cookies.”
Corey Lablans, a Geology Supervisor at New Gold’s nearby Rainy River Mine, visited the fourth-grade classroom in January, providing a special hands-on lesson and edible education about rocks and minerals.
“Using something like a chocolate chip cookie to show the difference between rocks and minerals is a way of demonstrating a big concept in a fun, engaging, and bite-sized way for kids,” said Corey.
While this was his first time presenting to Mrs. Ellis’ class, Corey has shared his knowledge with number of other classrooms in the Rainy River District previously. As part of this visit, he covered a number of aspects of the mining industry including early exploration, milling, and how minerals are used in everyday life. The students also got to observe real mineralization in core samples brought from the mine site, even learning how to distinguish real gold from pyrite, or ‘fool’s gold’.
“Mining is more complex than just separating minerals from ore—there are countless processes involved that allow us to extract minerals that make up so many of the products and technologies we rely on daily,” Corey stated.
He hopes that by sharing his passion and knowledge with students at a young age, he might inspire them to explore science, especially if they hadn’t considered it before.
“I was introduced to the world of geology when I was very young, and now I am a professional geoscientist and have been working at the Rainy River Mine for seven years”, said Corey. “Making geology—or any topic—fun and interactive might inspire someone to ask questions, develop and interest, and maybe even motivate them to pursue their own passion.”
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