During the school year 2007-08 the environmental team of Naxos 2nd Junior High school accomplished the project entitled “Following the traces of naxian emery”. The emery related topic was chosen due to the great importance of this mineral to the island’s life and geoenvironment. The main purpose of this project was to inform the students and also a broader public, outside Naxos, about emery - a material that played, since antiquity, a significant role in naxian society and culture, and Greek history in general. The project also intended to sensitize the students and the local community relatively to the sustainable development of regions that suffer of population and cultural decline. In a framework of research and artistic creation, the team created educational material concerning the emery issue, which is available to other schools – “The emery educational kit”. This consisted of a) an information booklet concerning the stone, b) a puzzle game relative to emery mining, c) an educational board game about emery and d) a documentary film produced by the team and entitled “Following the traces of naxian emery”.

1. S. Kritikou & I. Malegiannaki
Secondary Education of Cyclades
2nd High School of Naxos
12th International Congress of the Geological Society of
Greece
Patras, May 2010

2. silver
obsidian
emery
marble
2

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Found in lenticular formation.
Developed through the process of
Corundum
metamorphism of bauxites (Alpine deformation 75.000.000-25.000.000 years ago).
Principal component: Corundum (Αl2Ο3): 5565% (first quality), 50-55% (second quality) and
< 45% (third quality).
Also contains hematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite
(Fe3O4).
Other materials that may be found: micas,
tourmaline, kynite, diaspore, rutile, staurolite,
vesuvianite, pyrite, sillimanite, chlorite,
feldspars, apatite, garnets.

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Corundum: the reason of emery’s great
hardness (7 -9 on MOHS scale) and
abrading attributes.
Use of Emery : smoothing of surfaces,
sand blast and as an anti-slipping
material for the construction of roads.
Known since antiquity as “Naxian stone”,
was used for the creation of artefacts
such as the Cycladic statuettes.
Very important factor of Naxos’
prosperity mainly for the first half of the
20th century.

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Found mostly on the mountain Ammomaxi, in NE Naxos.
Mining right, since Turkish Domination: a privilege of the
inhabitants of Apeiranthos, Koronos, Danakos, Mesi,
Skado and Keramoti.
Transport of emery down to the port of Moutsouna:
primarily with donkeys.
1929-1978: use of “Enaerios”, an aerial system of
transportation using wire ropes and buckets.
90’s: naxian emery was pushed aside commercially
because of artificial corundum and expansion of the
Turkish emery.
Nowadays: emery mines, mining machinery, piles of the
mineral in Moutsouna are declared preservable by the
Ministry of Culture.

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Starting point of the project: geology.
For the understanding of position, creation and
properties of this mineral: contribution of
geography and chemistry.
Elements of ancient and modern technology.
Understanding of the role of Naxian highlanders
in mining and sale of emery: sociology, history.
Group’s research on the spot had an
anthropologic- ethnographic character.

8. 
Constructivist learning theory: emphasis on the
active participation of the learner in the procedure
of knowledge :
 the starting point of learning is the learner’s pre-existing
knowledge, attitude and interests.
 learning arises by the interaction of the above with
experience.
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Theory of situated learning: learning is a
multifarious procedure determined by sociocultural parameters:
 Knowledge inseparably connected to actions.
 Task distribution.
 Real world learning tasks as part of a complete project.

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To learn about emery in a pleasant and amusing
way.
To learn how to cooperate as a team.
To create pedagogical material concerning the
emery issue, available to other schools – “The
emery educational kit”.
To propose solutions for the sustainable
development of the emery mining regions of
Naxos island.
To inform a broader public, outside Naxos, about
a material that played a significant role in Greek
history.

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The team interviewed ex miners.
We visited the geological museum.
We entered a mining gallery and
took part in the mining procedure.

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We interviewed ex miners.
We visited an emery station
and a mining gallery in
Stravolagada.
We saw the remnants of the
aerial railway “enaerios”.

12. 
We traveled to Athens,
where a specialized
geologist from the
Museum of Mineralogy
and Petrology in the
University of Athens,
initiated us to concepts
like geoconservation
and geotourism.

13. 
In the mining park Vagonetto,
in Amfissa, we got acquainted
with the idea of transforming a
deserted mining gallery into a
museum.

14. The “emery educational kit” includes:
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An information booklet concerning the
mineral emery.
A puzzle game relative to emery mining.
An educational board game about emery.
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A documentary film produced by the team,
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entitled “Following the traces of naxian
Emery”.

15. 
Method used: division of
a goal in sub goals:
 Our topic was divided up in
smaller units given in a
query form.
 Each student gathered
information about each
question.
 The unification of the
material gathered created
the booklet.

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Keeping in mind that learning through
entertainment is more sufficient, the team
constructed the emery game.

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The players take the role of emery miners trying to
arrive to the Moutsouna port in order to weigh
amounts of the mineral.
Ways to proceed: a correct answer or a correct
dramatization of an act relative to emery mining.
Obstacles: a holiday, a gardening task, an illness
etc.
The winner is: whoever arrives first at the port
with the greatest amount of emery.
Players, besides learning about the emery mining,
get acquainted with elements of the tradition and
the culture of mountainous Naxos.

18. 
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Our young cameramen
recorded on film all
their escapades.
We gathered all the
films and, with the help
of a professional
director, we produced a
35 minute documentary
film “Following the
traces of naxian Emery” .

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During the realization of the documentary, the
team had the chance to learn all about the phases
involving film producing, camera handling, and
dramatization.
The film production gave the team strong stimulus
and integrated all their actions in a framework of
problem solving and artistic creation.
The shooting of a documentary really helped in the
achievement of learning via experience (learning
by doing).

20. 
All the conclusions and the material produced
during the project were presented to the public, in a
special presentation that was organized in the town
hall of Naxos.

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The project “Following the traces of Naxian emery”
constitutes an example of application of geodidactics –
through a cross thematic framework – in environmental
education.
A school team became engaged in the creation of a
complete research and artistic work, addressed to the
local society and a broader public.
The students became active creators of a more
meaningful learning.
The project, an example of creative and amusing learning,
has left students and teachers a notable remembrance of
the school year 2007-8.