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go to the smithsonian	Select a time when you can spend several hours at the National Museum of Natural History. A component of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, Natural History is located on the National Mall at the intersection of 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. There is no public parking facility, but the museum is an easy walk from the Mall exit of Metro's Smithsonian Station, on the Blue and Orange lines. Natural History is open every day of the year except for December 25. The regular hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. There is no charge for admission. Photography is allowed in all exhibitions unless explicitly prohibited.
gather data	When you leave for the museum, take with you a copy of the trip guide. The guide contains a set of questions whose answers will constitute your trip report. The questions, involving specific mineral and rock displays, are presented in the approximate order that you will encounter exhibits. During your visit, take notes so that you will be able to compose answers to the trip-guide questions after you return home.
write a trip report	Create a word-processing file that contains an answer to each of the field-trip questions. Derive the answers from your museum notes. Aside from the title page, your trip report should be three or four letter-sized pages, each with one-inch margins, single-spaced lines, and 10 to 12-point font.
submit the trip report	Use the address at the bottom of this page to send me an email with your report included as an attachment. I will return an acknowledgement that I have received the report and can read it.
due date	Your email must be sent on or before 6 p.m., Friday, December 4, 2009.
grading	If you submit a well-constructed trip report following all the directions given above and in the trip guide, you will receive an "A". If you submit a readable report that ignores a few of the directions, you will receive a "B". If you ignore many of the directions or submit an incomplete or incoherent report, you will receive a "C". If your report is late, your grade will be reduced to the next lower grade. If you submit no report before the end of the semester, you will receive zero.