Two ways to learn geology hands-on: drive a rock through the full cycle (weather it, bury it, metamorphose it, melt it) with real pressure–temperature conditions and metamorphic facies, then play Mineral Detective — probe an unknown specimen's hardness, streak, lustre and cleavage to narrow the candidates.
An unknown specimen is in front of you. Perform tests to narrow it down — then guess.
The rock cycle follows igneous→sedimentary→metamorphic→igneous paths with realistic conditions: metamorphic facies come from the standard P–T grid (zeolite → greenschist → amphibolite → granulite → eclogite, with blueschist at high P / low T). Mineral detection applies the classic physical tests: Mohs hardness (1 talc … 10 diamond, each mineral scratches anything softer), streak (the colour of the powder on an unglazed plate — more reliable than external colour), lustre (how light reflects off the surface) and cleavage (the way it splits along planes). Combined, these four tests usually pin a specimen to 1–3 minerals from the 12 common species included.