The seventh grade has been working very hard this year. So far, they have studied minerals, rocks, and the layers of the Earth. Last week the students had the opportunity to explore the layer of the Earth from which minerals and rocks are gathered-the crust. The class traveled to Indian Echo Caverns in Hummelstown where they were able to explore the crust from varying distances below the Earth's surface including a maximum of 110 feet! In the caverns, they learned about the minerals that form the structures such as stalagmites, stalactites, and flow stone. They also learned about the abundance of limestone in Pennsylvania. Throughout the tour, the tour guide told us stories about the early explorers and Native Americans that used the cave for shelter even back as far as the sixteenth century. These people left writings and even an advertisement for pretzels in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.  After the tour, some of the students explored more minerals with their own gem mining bag. They sifted through a bag of sand and discovered gems such as amethyst and garnet. Beginning this week, the seventh grade will break out of the Earth's surface and atmosphere into outerspace.