Sending a Valentine - Valentine Science

Overview and Purpose: Valentine's Day provides a great opportunity for students to practice writing addresses. In this activity, they are sending Valentine's Day cards to the kindergarteners in their school.

Objective: The student will be able to correctly address an envelope.

Resources:

An assortment of Valentine's Day cards with envelopes

Activities:

Have students practice addressing envelopes by having them write Valentine's Day cards and send them to the kindergarteners. The address can be the kindergarteners' classroom, the name of the school, and then the physical address. Have students check each other's envelopes to make sure they are filled out correctly. When all the cards have been written and the envelopes are correct, choose two or three students to be the postmasters and have them sort the envelopes by classroom. When they are finished, choose two or three other students to be the mailmen and to deliver the valentines to the classrooms.

Gifts for Valentine's Day - Valentine Science

Overview and Purpose: In this lesson, students learn how to shop based on cost per item instead of the overall cost. They practice using store circulars that offer sales on items for Valentine's Day.

Objective: The student will be able to compare the price of the same gift from two different stores and decide which one is the better deal.

Resources:

Store circulars offering jewelry and chocolates for Valentine's Day gifts

Information on how many pieces of chocolate are in the boxes offered in the circulars

Activities:

Teach your students how to compare prices by figuring out the price per item. Use some examples from the store circulars as group practice. Then, have your students work individually or in groups and use the store circulars to compare prices on jewelry and chocolates. They will have to figure out the price per item or per inch to determine which sale is better.

Friendship Hearts - Valentine Science

Overview and Purpose: Valentine's Day is a good time to focus on friendship. In this activity, students write compliments about their classmates on paper hearts. The hearts are then hung on a piece of crepe paper above the student's desk.

Objective: The student will be able to write something nice about each member of their group.

Resources:

Red, white, and pink construction paper

Markers/crayons

Crepe paper

Tape

Activities:

Have students make paper hearts out of the construction paper. On each heart have them write something positive about each person in their group or row. Have them underline all the adjectives that they use. Take the hearts and hang the compliments for each student on crepe paper above their desk.

Candy-Colored Picture - Valentine Science

Overview and Purpose: Students use candy conversation hearts to create colored pictures showing familiar themes for Valentine's Day.

Objective: The student will be able to create a picture using traditional Valentine's Day candies.

Resources:

Candy conversation hearts

Cardstock

Glue

Protective sealant

Activities:

Have students create a picture made entirely of candy conversation hearts. They can glue them to the paper upside down so the wording does not show. Suggestions for pictures could include traditional Valentine's Day symbols, the front of a Valentine's Day card, and special messages. When the students finish their pictures, spray them with a protective sealant.

Box of Chocolate Adjectives - Valentine Science

Overview and Purpose: Students use all their senses in this chocolaty writing activity. They try to describe what their piece of candy is like in a way that the other students can recognize it.

Objective: The student will be able to use at least five adjectives to describe a piece of chocolate.

Resources:

A box of assorted chocolates (be careful of nut allergies)

Activities:

Explain to your students that you are going to give them each a piece of candy. They should write as many descriptive words and phrases as they can about the candy. Remind them to use all their senses when they are writing. You could even have them write the five senses on their paper and write the words under the correct one. After the students have completed this activity, have each one read their words and have the class try to guess which piece of chocolate the student had.

The Love - Body Science

The Science of Love:

* There are three phases to falling in love and different hormones are involved at each stage.
* Events occurring in the brain when we are in love have similarities with mental illness.
* When we are attracted to somebody, it could be because subconsciously we like their genes.
* Smell could be as important as looks when it comes to the fanciability factor. We like the look and smell of people who are most like our parents.
* Science can help determine whether a relationship will last.

Cupid's chemicals:

Flushed cheeks, a racing heart beat and clammy hands are some of the outward signs of being in love. But inside the body there are definite chemical signs that cupid has fired his arrow.

When it comes to love it seems we are at the mercy of our biochemistry. One of the best known researchers in this area is Helen Fisher of Rutgers University in New Jersey. She has proposed that we fall in love in three stages. Each involving a different set of chemicals.

Three Stages of Falling in Love

Stage 1: Lust

Lust is driven by the sex hormones testosterone and oestrogen. Testosterone is not confined only to men. It has also been shown to play a major role in the sex drive of women. These hormones as Helen Fisher says "get you out looking for anything".

Stage 2: Attraction

This is the truly love-struck phase. When people fall in love they can think of nothing else. They might even lose their appetite and need less sleep, preferring to spend hours at a time daydreaming about their new lover.

In the attraction stage, a group of neuro-transmitters called 'monoamines' play an important role:

* Dopamine - Also activated by cocaine and nicotine.
* Norepinephrine - Otherwise known as adrenalin. Starts us sweating and gets the heart racing.
* Serotonin - One of love's most important chemicals and one that may actually send us temporarily insane.

Discover which type of partner you're attracted to by taking our face perception test.

Stage 3: Attachment

This is what takes over after the attraction stage, if a relationship is going to last. People couldn't possibly stay in the attraction stage forever, otherwise they'd never get any work done!

Attachment is a longer lasting commitment and is the bond that keeps couples together when they go on to have children. Important in this stage are two hormones released by the nervous system, which are thought to play a role in social attachments:

* Oxytocin - This is released by the hypothalamus gland during child birth and also helps the breast express milk. It helps cement the strong bond between mother and child. It is also released by both sexes during orgasm and it is thought that it promotes bonding when adults are intimate. The theory goes that the more sex a couple has, the deeper their bond becomes
* Vasopressin - Another important chemical in the long-term commitment stage. It is an important controller of the kidney and its role in long-term relationships was discovered when scientists looked at the prairie vole

Find out how the three stages can feel even stronger for teenagers in love, experiencing first love and first sex.

The frisky Prairie Vole: In prairie vole society, sex is the prelude to a long-term pair bonding of a male and female. Prairie voles indulge in far more sex than is strictly necessary for the purposes of reproduction.

It was thought that the two hormones, vasopressin and oxytocin, released after mating, could forge this bond. In an experiment, male prairie voles were given a drug that suppresses the effect of vasopressin. The bond with their partner deteriorated immediately as they lost their devotion and failed to protect their partner from new suitors.

Looking in their genes

When it comes to choosing a partner, are we at the mercy of our subconscious? Researchers studying the science of attraction draw on evolutionary theory to explain the way humans pick partners.

It is to our advantage to mate with somebody with the best possible genes. These will then be passed on to our children, ensuring that we have healthy kids, who will pass our own genes on for generations to come.

When we look at a potential mate, we are assessing whether we would like our children to have their genes. There are two ways of doing this that are currently being studied, pheromones and appearance.

Pheromones:

Sniffing out Mr or Mrs Right

Human pheromones are a hot topic in research. They are odourless chemicals detected by an organ in the nose. Some scientists believe they could be the key to choosing a suitable lover.

Love rats Pheromones are already well understood in other mammals, especially rodents. These animals possess something called a 'vomeronasal organ' (or VNO) inside their noses. They use it to detect pheromones in the urine of other rats and use this extra sense to understand social relationships, identify the sex of fellow rats and find a mate.

In 1985, researchers at the University of Colorado found evidence that this organ also exists in most adult humans. So humans could also respond to pheromones.

Rats have different pheromones in their urine, depending on the make-up of their immune system. When rats choose a mate, they must avoid partners with an immune system too similar to their own, so that their babies can fight off a wider range of infections. As well as lurking in urine, pheromones are also found in sweat.

Love is...a sweaty T-shirt competition:

In 1995, Claus Wedekind of the University of Bern in Switzerland, asked a group of women to smell some unwashed T-shirts worn by different men. What he discovered was that women consistently preferred the smell of men whose immune systems were different from their own. This parallels what happens with rodents, who check-out how resistant their partners are to disease by sniffing their pheromones. So it seems we are also at the mercy of our lover's pheromones, just like rats.

Fatherly fragrances

At the University of Chicago, Dr Martha McClintock has shown in her own sweaty T-shirt study that what women want most is a man who smells similar to her father. Scientists suggest that a woman being attracted to her father's genes makes sense. A man with these genes would be similar enough that her offspring would get a tried and tested immune system. On the other hand, he would be different enough to ensure a wide range of genes for immunity. There seems to be a drive to reach a balance between reckless out-breeding and dangerous inbreeding.

Appearance:

What Makes You Fancy Someone?

Appearance could be another indicator of the quality of a person's genes. Research suggests that there are certain things we all look for - even if we don't know it.

Perfect symmetry

It is thought that asymmetrical features are a sign of underlying genetic problems. Numerous studies in humans have shown that men in particular go for women with symmetrical faces.

The preference in women for symmetry is not quite so pronounced. Women are also looking for a man's ability to offer food and protection. This might not be indicated in their genes, but in their rank and status, for example.

The hour-glass figure

Studies have shown that men prefer women with a waist to hip ratio of 0.7. You can calculate your own using this formula:

Waist Measurement ÷ Hip Measurement = Ratio.

This seems to apply whatever the woman's overall weight. A group of researchers even compared this ratio with the average ratio of Miss America winners over the years. It was exactly the same. This ratio would seem to make sense as an indicator of a woman's reproductive health. When women age their waist tends to become less pronounced as they put on fat around the stomach. This coincides with them becoming less fertile.

Learn to Love yourself

Have you noticed how many married couples look quite similar? Studies have shown that more than anything we prefer somebody who looks just like we do. From a batch of individual photographs people can spot who are the couples with unnerving reliability.

Try our match-making quiz and give it a go!

Research has uncovered that there is a correlation in couples between their:

* Lung volumes
* Middle finger lengths
* Ear lobe lengths
* Overall ear size
* Neck and wrist circumferences
* Metabolic rates

Mummy's boys and Daddy's girls?

The latest studies indicate that what people really, really want is a mate that looks like their parents. Women are after a man who is like their father and men want to be able to see their own mother in the woman of their dreams.

At the University of St Andrews in Scotland, cognitive psychologist David Perrett studies what makes faces attractive. He has developed a computerised morphing system that can endlessly adjust faces to suit his needs.

Students in his experiments are left to decide which face they fancy the most. Perrett has taken images of students' own faces and morphed them into the opposite sex. Of all the faces on offer, this seems to be the face that subject will always prefer. They can't recognize it as their own, they just know they like it.

Perrett suggests that we find our own faces attractive because they remind us of the faces we looked at constantly in our early childhood years - Mum and Dad. Even the pheromone studies are now showing a preference for our parents' characteristics.

Examine your ability to read faces and to find your perfect mate by taking our face perception test, developed by Professor David Perrett.

Will it last?

Unfortunately there's no way of telling for certain if a relationship will last. But there might be some clues in your partner's family!

In studies of behavioral genetics it has been shown that a person's tendency to divorce is written in their genes. When scientists studied identical twins, they found that whatever their degree of marriage success was, they shared it with their sibling. Men who went through multiple marriages were highly likely to have a twin brother who did the same.

The numbers game

Perhaps the best indication as to whether your love will last come from statistical studies. Researchers have come up with several predictors for success. This is based on how you met and when, how you resolve conflict and how similar you and your expectations are.

Avalanche - Snow Science

An avalanche is a big pile of snow, dirt, and other objects, that come crashing down a mountainside. When there is an avalanche it is usually a sliding avalanche. A sliding avalanche is when the snow piles up and weighs too much to stay on top of the slope and slides down the mountain.

Here is a picture of an avalanche. You can see the dirt and rocks that came down the mountain with the snow.

There are two other types of avalanches also. They are called wind avalanches, and summer avalanches. A wind avalanche happens when a strong wind blows dry snow down the side of the mountain. A summer avalanche happens in the summer when a glacier starts to melt. A big piece of ice is hanging off the glacier attached by a small piece of ice. When the small piece melts, the large piece rolls down the mountain.

Avalanches are most likely to happen when loose layers of snow fall on top of ice. A slide can easily start, crashing down and burying everything in its path. The breeze of air in front of the avalanche is usually very strong, strong enough to wipe out tall buildings and break glass.

Ice Caves - Snow Science

Ice caves are made by meltwater on the inside of a glacier. A hole that is formed gets so big that it becomes a cave. In ice caves the ice is so compacted that it looks blue. Ice caves are dangerous. When the glacier is melting the sides of the cave can get thin and fall in, burying everything. The other danger is that there can be flash floods in the ice cave. If you are too far inside you might not be able to get out fast enough.

Animals In The Snow - Snow Science

The lynx, hare, ptarmigan, snowy owl, and grouse get an extra layer of fur or feathers on their paws and feet during the winter. That helps even out the animal's weight so they will stay on top of the snow.

To reach branches for it to eat in the winter, the snowshoe hare stands on its hind legs! When the snow is so deep that the snowshoe hare has trouble getting around, it will make paths through the snow by hopping in the same spots a lot.

The ptarmigan & grouse make a home that looks like a den in the snow called a kieppe. It protects them from snow storms, wind, and other bad weather that winter brings.

Mice, voles, moles, and other rodents make burrows under the ground to get away from the cold. Red squirrels usually stay on top of the snow, but when the temperatures change to -22 F they make a burrow too, and live with their cousins under the snow.

To keep warm some birds puff up their feathers and snuggle up together on the branches of trees.

Chioneuphores are animals like moose, elk, fox, and wolves that survive in snow by changing the way they live. They walk on packed down paths and eat the food on the side of the paths, unless they have to catch their own food.

Some animals turn a different color in the winter than in the summer. They turn white in the winter and brown in the summer to help keep them safe from their predators, and it also helps them creep up and pounce on their prey.

Some animals hibernate. That means that they eat tons of food during the summer and sleep all winter in a den that they find or make.

Other animals migrate. They go to a cooler place in the summer and to a warmer place in the winter.

Glaciers - Snow Science

How A Glacier Is Formed: In some places it is cold all year long. On the tops of mountains it can snow any time of the year. When the first snow falls there is a lot of air space between the flakes. As more and more snow falls, the snow begins to pack together and get much heavier. The heavy snow compacts and presses down on the ground. Then when other snowstorms come the snow packs down even more, and the flakes start to lose their shape. Then the air gets sucked out of the flakes and most of the flakes turn into ice. The snowflakes get rounder as they absorb water in between the left over air spaces. As the years go by the the ice fields grow deeper and stronger until they form a glacier.


How Glaciers Move: Glaciers move in two ways. The first way is through the pull of gravity and meltwater. Gravity pulls the heavy weight of the glacier down a hill very slowly. If you were watching one, you probably wouldn't see it moving. Under the glacier, as it slowly moves, the rocks it is dragging underneath cause the ice to melt. The water under the glacier is called melt water. The meltwater makes it slippery and helps the glacier to move down hills.

There is also meltwater on top of the glaciers that gets into cracks. When it refreezes the ice cracks and moves, kind of like the way an ice cube might crack and melt in a glass of soda. The amount of melt water in the glacier depends on the weather. Different parts of the glacier move at different speeds.

Glacier Life: Do you ever wonder if anything lives on or in a glacier? The top of a glacier is only rocks, ice, dirt, and snow, so who or what would want to live there? Well actually, there is life on a glacier. The reason why is because of the wind. When the wind blows over the ground it collects dust and other things like insects, pollen, minerals, and bacteria that are in the air. Then when the wind blows over the glacier it drops everything on it.

Snow fleas and ice worms live on a glacier. The wind brings them their food. Ice worms are related to the earth worm, but much smaller. They are at less than an inch long!! They move around by squeezing in between the ice crystals at the top of the glacier. They can go as deep as six feet. Ice worms lay their eggs and hatch in the ice. Sometimes you can find over 100 ice worms in one area while another area won't have any.

Not many people get lucky enough to see ice worms and some people think they don't exist. Ice worms only live if the temperature is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. If the ice gets below 22 degrees Fahrenheit, the ice worms will freeze. Ice worms only live in a glacier if it is beside the ocean or has a lot of meltwater. Ice worms eat algae, that is near the top of the glacier. Snow algae is red instead of green like most algae.

Along with the ice worm, some land insects like spiders and flies might live on a glacier. They usually get eaten by animals that are bigger, like the birds. Animals other the than ice worm also use glaciers. Tidewater glaciers give a home or resting place to large animals. Seals climb up onto the icebergs to have their babies. The new born babies, or pups, and their mothers can rest on the icebergs safe from their predators. Eagles like to stand on icebergs to look for food.

The Size of a Glacier:

Some glaciers can be very small, maybe a few hundred square feet. Glaciers can be very thick. A glacier could get as big as 60 school buses on top of each other. The edges of a glacier are thinner than the center.

Glaciers in Alaska:

Did you know that no one has ever counted all of the glaciers in Alaska? There are nearly 100,000 of them, but most of them don't have names. Most of the glaciers are in the southern part of Alaska. About anywhere in Alaska where you drive or go boating, you can see the remains of the ice age and movement of glaciers.

Snow Bridges:

A crevasse is an open break or cut in the surface of the glacier. They are dangerous because you can't always see them. It looks like part of the surface, but it really is a deep hole. Snow bridges form on top of crevasses.


Glacier Valleys:
Glaciers form valleys that are rounder and smoother than those that are formed by rivers. You can see the difference in these pictures.

Icebergs - Snow Science

When the glacier slides into the water it becomes an iceberg. Only the tip of an iceberg (about 10%) can be seen above the water. Wind and the water currents can move icebergs. Icebergs can weigh as much as several tons. Since most of the iceberg is under water it can easily sink and hurt ships and boats that don't see them. For example, the reason the Titanic sank is because it hit an iceberg.

The shape of the iceberg is always changing. In the distance and mist icebergs can have weird shapes that can look like anything from a dog to a knight. When exposed to the sun and water, icebergs melt very fast. In Alaska icebergs live about 2 months. When an iceberg melts, it can become unbalanced and flip over unsuspectingly, making a huge splash and shock waves.

You might wonder, how old is the ice that calves off the glacier? Well it depends on how fast the glacier is moving and how far it travels. Lots of people think that the ice in Portage Lake (in Alaska) is over a thousand years old, but it is only about 50-100 years old. Portage Glacier is six miles long. The ice there moves about 400 ft. every year. It takes about 80 years for the glacier to reach the lake. Even though Portage Glacier has been resting in Portage Valley for over a thousand years, the ice on the outside is only about 100 or so years old. People tend to think that glacial ice is colder than ice in your freezer, but it's not.

Water Cycle - Snow Science

Here is a picture of the water cycle. The water cycle is the process of how water goes from one state of matter to another.

Snow Facts - Snow Science

Have you ever heard that no two snowflakes have the same shape? If you have, have you ever wondered how that can be with the billions of snowflakes that fall each year? Well, there have been 2 snowflakes found that were identical. If someone says that phrase again, you can tell them the truth!

Snowflakes start as ice crystals that are the size of a speck of dust. When the crystals fall they join up with other crystals to form a snowflake. The size of the snowflake depends on how many crystals hook together. Snowflakes usually have six sides. Here are the different kinds of snowflake shapes.

Interesting Snow Facts

Guess what, it can get cold enough that it doesn't snow! Because snow is frozen water, if there are not enough water droplets in the air it can't snow.

You probably know that it snows when water is lifted into the sky from rivers, lakes, and oceans as water vapor. You can not see water vapor but it is there. There is enough in the air to cover the earth with 3 feet of water. The warmer the air the more water vapor there is.

You can make your own cloud by breathing in cold weather. Or, try breathing on a mirror; there will be a clear gray cloud on it!

For it to snow the tops of the clouds must be below 0 degrees Celsius, or 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Snow can come from any cloud that is layered.

Sometimes the snow can be feet deep in one place while it is bare in another because the wind has blown all the snow off that spot.

As snow falls snowflakes connect to make bigger snowflakes.

Snow at the North and South Pole reflect heat into space!! That happens because the ice acts like a mirror with the heat of the sun, and the heat bounces off the ice and into space.

Gemstones in the Breastplate of Aaron

A biblical accounting of the gem stones in the breastplate of the high priest.

Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD . - Exodus 28:29 NIV The Breastplate of Aaron is of interest to gem lovers because it is an early accounting of the use of gemstones as both decoration and symbol. Aaron is the brother to Moses and the leader of the tribe which is appointed as high priests. The breastplate is described (Exodus 28:15-20) as the "Breastplate of Judgement" or "Breastplate of Decision" (dependent on the biblical translation) and is adorned with twelve gems -- one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel. The gemstones were to be attached in four rows of three and each gem was to have the name of a tribe inscribed upon it. Unfortunately, it is difficult for contemporary translators to determine a certain or absolute interpretation of which modern gemstone names equate to the ancient biblical descriptions of the stones of the high priest's breastplate. Therefore, the list of gems used varies dependent on the translation which is cited. Listed below are some of the most popular translations. New International Version (NIV) Row 1: ruby, topaz, beryl Row 2: turquoise, sapphire (or lapis lazuli), emerald Row 3: jacinth, agate, amethyst Row 4: chrysolite, onyx, jasper New American Standard Bible (NASB) Row 1: ruby, topaz, emerald Row 2: turquoise, sapphire, diamond Row 3: jacinth, agate, amethyst Row 4: beryl, onyx, jasper New Living Translation (NLT) Row 1: red carnelian, chrysolite, emerald Row 2: turquoise, sapphire, white moonstone Row 3: jacinth, agate, amethyst Row 4: beryl, onyx, jasper King James Version (KJV) Row 1: sardius, topaz, carbuncle Row 2: emerald, sapphire, diamond Row 3: ligure, agate, amethyst Row 4: beryl, onyx, jasper New King James Version (NKJV) Row 1: sardius, topaz, emerald Row 2: turquoise, sapphire, diamond Row 3: jacinth, agate, amethyst Row 4: beryl, onyx, jasper Revised Standard Version (RSV) Row 1: sardius, topaz, carbuncle Row 2: emerald, sapphire, diamond Row 3: jacinth, agate, amethyst Row 4: beryl, onyx, jasper

Anniversary Stones

Anniversary Stones: List of gemstones associated with each wedding anniversary year.

This is the list of generally accepted gemstones and precious metals associated with each wedding anniversary. 1st Anniversary: Gold Jewelry 2nd Anniversary: Garnet (all colors) 3rd Anniversary: Pearls 4th Anniversary: Blue Topaz 5th Anniversary: Sapphire (all colors) 6th Anniversary: Amethyst 7th Anniversary: Onyx 8th Anniversary: Tourmaline (all colors) 9th Anniversary: Lapis Lazuli 10th Anniversary: Diamond Jewelry 11th Anniversary: Turquoise 12th Anniversary: Jade or Agate 13th Anniversary: Citrine or Moonstone 14th Anniversary: Opal or Moss Agate 15th Anniversary: Ruby 16th Anniversary: Peridot or Topaz (all colors) 17th Anniversary: Amethyst 18th Anniversary: Garnet 19th Anniversary: Aquamarine 20th Anniversary: Emerald 21st Anniversary: Iolite 22nd Anniversary: Spinel (all colors) 23rd Anniversary: Sapphire 24th Anniversary: Tanzanite 25th Anniversary: Silver Jubilee 26th Anniversary: Star Sapphire 30th Anniversary: Pearl Jubilee 35th Anniversary: Emerald or Coral 39th Anniversary: Cat's Eye 40th Anniversary: Ruby 45th Anniversary: Sapphire or Alexandrite 50th Anniversary: Golden Jubilee 52nd Anniversary: Star Ruby 55th Anniversary: Alexandrite or Emerald 60th Anniversary: Diamond Jubilee 65th Anniversary: Star Sapphire 75th Anniversary: Diamond

Gemstones for Days of the Week

One gemstone for each day of the week -- with uncertain origins.

After a good bit of research in an attempt to determine the origin of how certain gemstones came to be attached to the days of the week, it seems that the origins are... well, highly uncertain. Lists are indeed posted on various corners of the web, but citations for the said lists seem to go unstated, time after time. So the list posted below is posted with trepidation -- it seems to be the most popular/common list, but also seems to have no roots in history or tradition. Could it be a list concocted by the jewelry industry for those people who don't care for their traditional birthstone? That's certainly one possibility. Could it be a list created by an author in need of filler material for a book? Also possible. It's just unclear. If we find additional information, we'll be sure to share it. In the meantime: Gemstones for Each Day of the Week Sunday: Topaz Monday: Pearl Tuesday: Ruby Wednesday: Amethyst Thursday: Sapphire Friday: Carnelian Saturday: Turquoise

January Birthstone Garnet

Birthstone Color: Deep Red

One glance at the deep red seeds nestled inside of a pomegranate fruit explains why the word "garnet" comes from the Latin word "granatus," meaning "grain" or "seed." This name was given to the garnet because of its close resemblance to the succulent pomegranate seed. But don't bite into a garnet, because at Moh's hardness 6.5 to 7.5, it will definitely damage the teeth!

There are many myths and legends surrounding the garnet. One Biblical legend is that Noah hung this gem on the ark to light his way through the dark and stormy nights of God's wrath. A Greek myth linked to the garnet is the story of the young goddess of sunshine, Persephone, who was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld. Hades eventually released Persephone, but not before he offered her some pomegranate seeds, which guaranteed her return to him.

First mined in Sri Lanka over 2,500 years ago, the garnet is also found in Africa, Australia, India, Russia, South America; and in the United States, in Arizona and Idaho. Although most commonly known as a red gemstone, the garnet comes in a variety of other hues, including muted yellows, vibrant oranges, rosy pinks, lime greens, and violets—a virtual bouquet of colors. This diversity is due to unique combinations of elements within each particular gem, such as iron, calcium, and manganese.

Archaeologist findings of primitive style garnet jewelry among the graves of lake dwellers dates the early use of this gemstone to the Bronze age. But not all garnet is of gem quality. It is also a very effective abrasive and is used commercially for grinding and polishing. Garnet coated sandpaper is one such industrial use.

The garnet continues to be the protective gem of journeyers. A gift of garnet is thought to be symbolic of love and the desire for a loved one's safe travel and speedy homecoming. It is January's birthstone, but far from being only a winter gem, the garnet, with its brilliance and multitude of colors, is truly one for any season.