GEL3050 Mineralogy & Optical Mineralogy
Learn to Read Earth’s Hidden Wonders - Crystal Secrets
© 2025 Earthscience Education LLC. All rights reserved.

Welcome

Analyze, Identify, Illuminate

Journey into the Heart of Earth's Building Blocks

Either online, hybrid or in-person, this course examines minerals and rocks that make up the Earth’s crust, including their origin, occurrence, and identification. In addition to the recognition of hand specimens, this course utilizes microchemical testing & simple assays, the petrographic microscope and X-ray crystallography to identify minerals and rocks. Furthermore, students will engage in assignments showing their application of acquired mineralogical skills. One or more self guided fieldtrips are essential for this course. Magna fugiat, in non dolore, id commodo duis. Velit et dolore. Proident aliquip consectetur nulla veniam adipisicing, enim officia incididunt. Commodo do veniam nulla ipsum occaecat in tempor consectetur do proident labore mollit culpa qui reprehenderit minim duis elit. Sed nulla qui sint nisi culpa cillum dolor reprehenderit ad id. Elit ipsum ad in excepteur enim aute, dolore ipsum officia. Sed minim eu ut nulla ipsum non, esse culpa minim sint officia in nisi eu sed.

PRACTICAL APPLIED LAB SKILLS

Next to a solid background in mineralogy and optical mineralogy, this course teaches practical, hands-on geoscience skills, some of which are proprietary and only taught at MSU Denver. Next to state-of-art physical mineral identification with professional geoscience tools owned by the students, this course teaches also the rare skill of field wet chromatography testing for rapid elemental analysis as well as the hands-on making of petrographic thin sections.
GEL3050 Mineralogy & Optical M.
Learn to Read Earth’s Hidden Wonders - Crystal Secrets
© 2025 Earthscience Education LLC. Rights reserved.

Welcome

Analyze, Identify, Illuminate

Journey into the Heart of Earth's Building

Blocks

Either online, hybrid or in-person, this course examines minerals and rocks that make up the Earth’s crust, including their origin, occurrence, and identification. In addition to the recognition of hand specimens, this course utilizes microchemical testing & simple assays, the petrographic microscope and X- ray crystallography to identify minerals and rocks. Furthermore, students will engage in assignments showing their application of acquired mineralogical skills. One or more self guided fieldtrips are essential for this course. Magna fugiat, in non dolore, id commodo duis. Velit et dolore. Proident aliquip consectetur nulla veniam adipisicing, enim officia incididunt. Commodo do veniam nulla ipsum occaecat in tempor consectetur do proident labore mollit culpa qui reprehenderit minim duis elit. Sed nulla qui sint nisi culpa cillum dolor reprehenderit ad id. Elit ipsum ad in excepteur enim aute, dolore ipsum officia. Sed minim eu ut nulla ipsum non, esse culpa minim sint officia in nisi eu sed.

PRACTICAL APPLIED LAB SKILLS

Next to a solid background in mineralogy and optical mineralogy, this course teaches practical, hands-on geoscience skills, some of which are proprietary and only taught at MSU Denver. Next to state-of-art physical mineral identification with professional geoscience tools owned by the students, this course teaches also the rare skill of field wet chromatography testing for rapid elemental analysis as well as the hands-on making of petrographic thin sections.