Earth's Treasures Worksheet — Inside Taichung's Mineral World
A printable worksheet for upper elementary kids visiting the Earth's Treasures permanent mineral exhibition at the National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung. Covers Mohs hardness, fluorescent minerals, Hokutolite, Fengtian Nephrite, and hands-on observation activities. Free PDF download.
Each worksheet theme keeps everything in one folder
Drop this theme's HTML and PDF files into the earths-treasures folder, name them as en-style-name, and the site will pick them up automatically.
Boy Explorer
/printable/earths-treasures/en-boy-explorer.html
Girl Mission
/printable/earths-treasures/en-girl-mission.html
Mission Journal
/printable/earths-treasures/en-mission-journal.html
Adventure Guide
/printable/earths-treasures/en-adventure-guide.html
What’s inside this worksheet?
Earth’s Treasures is Taiwan’s first large-scale permanent mineral exhibition, and for an elementary schooler the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming. This worksheet compresses the whole gallery into 3 pages of A4, turning the visit into a focused, purposeful adventure:
- Before you go: learn what minerals are and how the Mohs hardness scale works, then tick the three things you most want to see today.
- Gallery observation notes: work through five designated zones — Mineral Evolution, Symmetry & Beauty of Crystals, Color & Luster of Crystals, Treasures of Taiwan, Mining the World — writing one observation per zone plus one “Find it!” challenge.
- My favourite specimen: choose one mineral to sketch, record its name, origin, and hardness, then answer three fun-fact questions.
Why I made this for my daughter
The exhibition is brilliant, but the information panels are wall-to-wall text — for an eight-year-old it can feel like reading a textbook on your feet. What I wanted to give her wasn’t the pressure of reading everything, but a lens for noticing something. The moment she stopped in front of any stone and discovered its colour, its glow, its layers — that was enough.
Suggested extensions
- Watch first: search “Earth’s Treasures NMNS” on YouTube — the museum posted a short 2-minute tour. Watching it before you go gives kids an “Oh, I recognise that!” moment when they arrive.
- Bring a magnifying glass: many crystal structures are almost invisible to the naked eye. A small loupe or hand lens changes everything.
- Grow a crystal at home: dissolve alum in hot water, suspend a seed crystal, and watch it grow over 3–7 days. It’s the most hands-on way to understand how minerals form.
- Bonus stop: the Botanical Garden and Tropical Rain Forest greenhouse right next to NMNS make a perfect afternoon follow-up — a living contrast to the mineral world you’ve just explored inside.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Earth's Treasures mineral exhibition in Taichung? +
The Earth's Treasures permanent exhibition is located in the Earth Environment Hall at the National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS) in Taichung. It opened on 17 September 2025 and is Taiwan's first large-scale permanent mineral exhibition, covering nearly 2,000 square metres across three galleries with approximately 1,800 mineral specimens. A general admission or Dinosaur Card covers entry; opening hours are 09:00–16:45.
Is the Earth's Treasures exhibition suitable for an 8-year-old? What should we bring? +
Absolutely — an 8-year-old will love it, especially with a parent reading the panels together, as the text can be dense. Pack three things and you are set — this worksheet, a pencil, and a water bottle. Once inside, resist the urge to rush through all eight zones; pick 3 to 5 sections your child is most curious about and linger there. About 90 minutes to 2 hours is the sweet spot before younger visitors start to fade.
What is Hokutolite, and why is it special to Taiwan? +
Hokutolite is a rare radioactive mineral named after Beitou, a hot-spring district in Taipei. It is a compound of barium and lead sulphates and has been found in only two places on Earth — Tamagawa in Akita, Japan, and Beitou in Taiwan. The Treasures of Taiwan zone inside the exhibition displays an actual Hokutolite specimen, making it one of the very few places in the world where you can see one up close.
Why do the fluorescent minerals glow? +
Fluorescent minerals absorb high-energy light (ultraviolet or X-ray) and re-emit that energy as visible light — that is fluorescence. The exhibition's star specimen is a 1,700 kg fluorescent rock. Under short-wave UV, Willemite glows vivid green and Calcite blazes deep red. It is the most jaw-dropping moment in the whole gallery.
How long does a visit to Earth's Treasures take? +
Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. The exhibition has eight themed zones; a thorough read-through would take around 3 hours, but most elementary-aged kids start to lose focus after 90 minutes. A good strategy is to head straight to the highlights first — the amethyst geode room, fluorescent minerals, Hokutolite, and the Moon rock — then loop back to browse the rest. Finishing with a break at the museum's café or the adjacent Botanical Garden works beautifully.