How much do you know about minerals? Maybe not a lot, or perhaps you do. Would you like to have learned more about them in elementary school? We know the answer: of course we would have! That’s why we are excited to present to you The Briefcase of Mineral Applications, a didactic mining briefcase for educational use in schools. Sounds great, right? Well, stay with us because we’re going to explain what it’s all about in this article.

For about a decade, every two weeks, the Museo Geominero has loaned schools a type of didactic kit so students could identify and touch common minerals. Ithas proven to be a very positive experience that has evolved into this very briefcase of mineral applications.

This project is based on theoretical and practical content, with both a physical and virtual briefcase. Everything is related to the applications of minerals and the consequences of their daily use as well as the mining process. All content is transmitted through a disruptive technology –the briefcase– and it has been shown in different parts of Europe through educational workshops and presented at universities and research centers.

The briefcases contain a set of minerals, tools for their identification, a set of products manufactured with the minerals, toys and puzzles for learning about their properties, places of production, application, etc., maps and other complimentary materials and a user manual.

Some of the topics covered include gold, cobalt, tin, platinum, minerals used in mobile phones, secondary raw materials and, of course, minerals that are used on a daily basis. Materials in 3D are used with the main objective of extending the reach of mining in these fields:

• Audience, 18 years old and under.
• End users: science museums, academic centers.
• Minerals, with new briefcases about minerals mined by new partners.
• Geographic, covering Slovakia and Portugal.
• Content, covering topics like exploration and the closing of mines.

And if that is not enough, it also includes plenty of digital content, such as the following:

• 3Briefcase Immersive Web Authoring Tool: interface web that will allow the creation of immersive interactive experiences without programming, by choosing options from the menu, being able to input 360 videos, audios, and external 3D models.
• 3DBriefcase Immersive Player: a 3D game, which includes multimedia content like immersive experiences, 360º videos, images, audio.
• Augmented Reality content in a digital book format.
• The briefcases will come with mobile phone kits + glasses. Glasses made from recycled cardboard will also be used to hold the phone that will be used during the workshops.

You don’t love it? Get a sample of what we do.