Stone steps of a building

Queens borough public library, New York City

To see the different kinds of rocks for yourself, take a walk around your town. Can you find examples of granite, limestone, slate, and marble on the buildings downtown?

Can you find travertine? (this one might be more difficult).

Can you figure out why the architects chose each type of rock? Why use granite for stairs and not marble? Why is limestone a better choice for big blocks of stone than slate is? What kind of stone do sculptors choose for statues?

Bonus: try to figure out where each of these different kinds of stone came from. Are they local? Did they come from far away?

More about rocks
Another geology project

Bibliography and further reading about rocks:

More about rocks
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