People mine for coal, oil, minerals, and metals. These are used for energy and as raw products to make things. In various parts of North America there are huge areas rich in one or more of these natural resources. Mining is the major industry in the Canadian Shield region of Canada.

Gillette, Wyoming, is the coal-mining capital of the USA. Nearby is the small community of Moorcroft. The community developed from an old wild west cattle-ranching center and is now largely based on oil and coal-mining. About 900 people live in the small town.

Students will discover what life is like in a mining community in the past and present.