“I have a geologist’s belt and tools for each of you.” He handed Brody and Emma the belts and explained how to fasten them around their waists. Mr. M held up each tool, one at a time, telling them the name and proper use. He also showed them the best way to store their tools in the belts so they would not fall out and become lost. There were loops, clips, and pouches for each item.
“Rock hammer,” he said holding up an odd-shaped tool. “This has two ends: one dull, one sharp. This will help you break the rock and mineral samples.” Emma and Brody slid their hammers through leather loops on their belts.
“Brunton compass.” Mr. M took one of the compasses out of its brown leather case and showed Emma and Brody how to open the special instrument by releasing the side latch and raising the lid to reveal the most complicated compass the kids had ever seen.
“You can use this to find a lot of information about a rock formation. This time, though, you will only need it to tell you direction. This needle on the top will spin to tell you if you are heading north, south, east, west or something in between. Don’t pay any attention to the two levels inside the compass, you won’t need them yet.” They placed the compasses back in their leather cases then slid the case loops through their belts.
Next, Mr. M handed them each a hand lens. The rounded magnifying lens swiveled out of a metal teardrop-shaped cover. A brown leather lace was strung through the end near the swivel point.
“You can wear this hand lens around your neck when you are looking at the rocks and keep it in the belt pouch when you don’t need it,” Mr. M told them.
The kids slid the hand lenses into metal covers and put them into their belt pouches. Mr. M handed Brody and Emma each a small black tile and a small white tile. They both had confused looks on their faces as they spun the two-inch square tiles in their hands. The little tiles were smooth but not shiny.
Brody tried to think of a use for these little tiles. “Okay, I give up,” he said.
“What are they?” Emma asked.
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