Any favourite geology resources?

[Pegs]

My 5yo has recently become interested in classifying and identifying rocks (of which I know very little). Is there some kind of field guide I could get for him? Something with colour pictures would be great. He's not intimidated by technical language, so no worries if it's something he'll grow into.

 

I'll give you bonus points if I can buy it at the book depository!

 

Thanks in advance. :)

[GoVanGogh]

Check out the books: Roadside Geology of...

I think they are available for every state.

[Carol in Cal.]

If you want a field trip--take him to the Nevada State Museum in Carson City.  It has the best mineral displays I have ever seen--tons of specimens.  Also it has a giant wall painted with the rock cycle.  And, there is a gold mine under it that you can tour.  

[Kiara.I]

Look in your local area for a rockhound club.  They will be an invaluable resource to you, and maybe they have club meetings or outings where your child can go along.  Most older enthusiasts (in whatever field!) are DELIGHTED to find a young, precocious enthusiast, and many of them will welcome them with glee.  And I would think that rock identification would be easier to learn as an apprenticeship than from a text...

[Kerileanne99]

My dd5 really likes the DK guide. It is quite comprehensive, and the pictures are great!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rocks-Minerals-Handbooks-Chris-Pellant/dp/1405359889

 

If you are up for something fun, there is a game called 'Rock On' that was created for young enthusiasts. Bonus because it comes with rock and mineral samples:)

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007R6E8SK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1419375211&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

[Farrar]

See if your library has How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World, which is a cute book about the earth for this age.

 

Seconding the Roadside Geology series for you.

[Lori D.]

Eyewitness Rocks & Minerals

Usborne Spotters Guide: Rocks & Minerals

Smithsonian Handbook: Rocks & Minerals

 

 

P.S.

I have one of the Roadside Geology, and, at least the one for my state, it is not a field guide for rock/mineral identification (like the Audobon bird or plant ID guides, for example). Instead, it lists places in various parts of the state and explains the geological strata and evidences of past geological activity. It is largely text with some b&w photos of mountains, cliffs and other rock formations mentioned in the text. Also, the text is written at a borderline academic level, assuming some basic foreknowledge of geology terms and processes. Just my experience! :)

[SereneHome]

I just got a RS4K geology.  My 6 yr old loves it!

 

You can go as dip into it as you want or keep it simple

[duckens]

Rocky Bingo

Dig Into Rocks (a little book with a lot of information; less intimidating that big field guides).  Or you can get the book included with this set.  I'd also spurge on a Gemstones set.

We also buy rock samples one or two at a time from the Science Center for a buck or so each.  The samples are an inch in diameter; this is not the "rocks in a little velvet bag" that you can buy.  These are individual, identified samples. I put them in individual little baggies and label the bag with a permanent marker.  You can also purchase the baggies from the jewelry-making section of your local Craft store (JoAnn's).
 

We have this poster on the wall of our hallway this year.  We have referred to it as we have learned about geology this year.  This set of posters, too.

We have used  Real Science Odyssey: Earth and Space 1 for Science this year (2nd Grade).  There have been some great geology experiments this year!  Buy the Rock Kit that goes with the curriculum.  It will make your life so much easier. 

I have heard good things about the Happy Scientist Geology resources, but we have not yet used them.  If you are interested, pose a question of the Hive.  Surely someone has used them and can give you a review.

Look online for local places you can go Geode Hunting (for a price).  Do a search of "Geode hunting [your state]".  Loverboy took our older dd (aged 7 at the time) for an overnight trip to dig for geodes this past spring.  She loved it, and when she got bored, she found the biggest mud puddle she could find, and took a mud bath up to her neck.  :eek:

If you want to get seriously into rock tumbling, PM me.  I'll put you in touch with Loverboy.  Every few months, I come home to a heavy box of something he ordered.  Yep.  He thinks we don't have enough rocks in the house already, so he'll order another 80 lbs. of "rock stuff."  During non-freezing weather, he has two tumblers and a vibrator running at any given time.

The Rock Shed has nice specimens for purchase that my daughters have both appreciated.  Check out their clearance/sale page.

ETA: Bill Nye the Science Guy has an episode on Rocks or Geology or such.  See if your library has a copy.

[Pegs]

These are great! Thanks all. :)

 

I have about twenty tabs open, trying to figure out what would be most useful to us, of the resources suggested.

[duckens]

Not a resource, but here's a funny little video made by our local college Geology Club.

The first part is, "First Geology Outing."

The second part is, "What are parents think we do; what our friends think we do; what our professors think we do; what we think the grad students do....."

Keep in mind these are geology students, not playwrights or professional actors.
 

[Critterfixer]

Best thing I bought for geology was a big old rock collection--I got the big one from Rainbow Resource. I had a few things from my own personal rock collection that I added to it, and we hit some rock and gem shows and picked up a few more. 

For big, pictures and sheer enchantment I suggest the big book Smithsonian Earth. We have worn that book out here.

I also suggest the Smithsonian handbook Rocks and Minerals. Lots and lots of color pictures with information beside the specimen. That's the DK guide-we really liked that one then and now.

We picked up The Nature Company Guides Rocks and Fossils used and it has gotten a lot of use.

[Pegs]

I'm getting the Chris Pellant Rocks and Minerals Handbook, which seems to be available under a few different publishers, so it's been recommended several times in this here thread, under different names, as far as I can tell. I've ordered the Usborne Spotter's Guide also.

 

I like the look of the game that Kerrileanne linked, because it includes games AND rocks and minerals, but I need to figure out how to get it posted to me. Unsurprisingly, it's not cheap to transport a box of rocks halfway around the globe.

 

I'm not sure where we might find geodes around here, but I can get us to some marine fossils, and ancient glacier sites. I'll look into tours, and/or local geology groups.

 

How much fun does tumbling look?! DS saw my grandfather's insect collection at Christmas, and I don't expect it will take much persuasion to interest him in collecting his own rock samples. It would be cool to display raw and polished samples of everything he collects. I'll do some more reading. :)

[OneStepAtATime]

http://geology.about.com/

[Pegs]

For big, pictures and sheer enchantment I suggest the big book Smithsonian Earth. We have worn that book out here.

This one? http://www.bookdepository.com/Earth/9781465414373

Or this? http://www.bookdepository.com/Smithsonian-Discover-Earth-Dorothea-DePrisco/9781626861633

[Critterfixer]

We have an older one ISBN 0-7894-9643-7 but it is the Luhr book. So option 1.

 

We ordered geodes for cracking. That was fun, but I'd like to go hunting them sometime. I'd like to have some cut instead of broken. They are just prettier that way, I think. But it's a lot of fun just dealing with whatever local rocks you can get. We have a bunch of gravel (large stuff) that is mostly chert, and you wouldn't believe how many plants and sea creatures we've found in that stuff. And just down the road there are crystal mines that we've been digging at. Found some neat stuff there. 

(We are also lucky enough to have a diamond mine that we are permitted to dig in. But I didn't have any luck there. :tongue_smilie: )

[laughing lioness]

We lived an hour from the Caprock in NM for several years. It's a great place to go rock hunting. Dh found a 8" across ammonite there several years ago. It's a bit rough, but not polished, and a huge find for an amateur. 

[Critterfixer]

 

We lived an hour from the Caprock in NM for several years. It's a great place to go rock hunting. Dh found a 8" across ammonite there several years ago. It's a bit rough, but not polished, and a huge find for an amateur. 

 

Ok! Now here I'm talking up local rocks and you are making me insanely jealous...

But how neat is that!

 

[laughing lioness]

Ok! Now here I'm talking up local rocks and you are making me insanely jealous...

But how neat is that!

To my dh, it was like winning the lottery. He still has a box of rocks from when he was a boy- we've hauled it around the country with us. He is a bonafide nerd (and I am the non-nerd wife who love him-lol!)

[Brit29]

We bought my 6 year old a bag of polished stones and a rocks and mineral field guide http://www.amazon.com/Field-Guide-Minerals-Peterson-Guides/dp/039591096X and let her identify them. She loves it! She's made labels for them and everything.