MINERAL PROPERTIES VS STRUCTURE:

Diamonds and graphite are both made of carbon atoms, yet they have totally different properties. This is the classic mineral example that teachers use to stress the importance of mineral structure. I found the easiest way to drive home thiis point is to bring in some lego building pieces. Count out 16 blocks that are exactly the same shape and color. Give 8 to one student, and 8 to another. Ask them to build 'something'. When they are done, show them to rest of the class. Ask them why, if these two students started with the 'same stuff', they turned out so different. Of course the answer is obvious to everyone, the way they were put together (Chris Visco)

SIMULATED METAMORPHISM:

Take a granola bar and examine the bar "before metamorphism" by cutting off one end of the bar and describing the noted grain orientation. The bar is then placed between two sheets of waxed paper and then between two pieces of plywood. Clamps are applied at three points, and pressure is applied evenly by turning each clamp a turn at a time until they cannot be turned BY HAND any further. At this point the clamps are removed and the bar reexamined. (Chris Visco)