If you don’t have any supplies for studying minerals, my experience suggests that the following mineral specimens and supplies provides you with the least amount of materials you need for hands-on activities.

Mineral Samples

I chose these three because you get a variety of mineral properties for low cost. Talc is a cheap replacement for graphite and fluorite can work in place of hematite for a middle level hardness, although its luster and streak are the same as quartz.

Mineral	Hardness	Streak	Luster
graphite	1.5-2	black	submetallic
red hematite	5-6	red-brown	earthy
quartz	7	white	glassy

Additional Supplies

• white streak plates (Unglazed porcelain tiles) – sets are about 10 bucks
• pennies
• nails
• steel butter knives (if allowed)

With these supplies your students can make observations and practice testing minerals for streak and hardness.

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