We are enthusiastic amateur Rockhounds. We have collected rocks and minerals from all over the world for the last 50 years or so and we enjoy exploring and finding new rocks and minerals. We are not geologists. Our earliest teachings about rocks and minerals came from the old rockhounds and rock shop owners ... We got descriptions like..."Not another one like it in the world!" "Got this one from an old miner from the Apache Mine...she's a beaut!" We learned many of the mineral names (mostly mis-spelled) from these old timers. It took us years to find the correct spellings for minerals such as African Tuckite (Shattuckite) and Lemonite (Limonite). Our journey has been a lifelong quest for knowledge, mostly without the Internet. If we wanted to know something it was off to the library for encyclopedias or rock and mineral books, or just keep asking people. So even at any age, we are all still learning. We are developing our Learning links pages which will be an ongoing project including Educational Rock and Mineral Websites and YouTube Videos, DVD's and Books that you can learn from.

We have heard people criticize certain websites or YouTube videos for not being absolutely technically correct. To them we say sorry, we do not profess to know everything about everything. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the information found in these sites. Learning is a progressive thing and we hope that you can take away at least a few bits of information from these sites. We hope you will learn lots from them. Anyway, they are free to visit and learn from. So take them or leave them as you see fit, but there is much information and knowledge in these links, so enjoy. We will also be adding our list of Rock and Mineral Museums and our favorite Caves and Rock Finding locations. Check Back Often!

Asher 2 years old Hunting for Rocks in the Death Valley Desert

Learning Links Page
Learning Links Page

Beginning Education for Future RockPups / Junior Rockhounds

Exploring Rocks and Minerals. This is a DVD that was made in 2003 and again in 2009 called Way Cool Science:
Rockfinders. It is available online in multiple places.
Way Cool Science - Rockfinders (092388091190) - DVD NEW
Runtime: 27 minutes

Host Max Orbit heads this children's activity program that focuses on the importance of rock formation. Using graphics, animation, and exciting footage, the kids learn all about fossils, minerals, erosion, the properties of various rocks, and their importance to science. They are also given pointers on how to start their own rock collections.

First Version was rentable at Netflix
Revised Version Correlates to State and National curriculum standards Grades 3 through 8

Revised Version Correlates to State and National curriculum standards Grades 3 through 8
Normally available at Barnes and Noble Booksellers

Education for RockPups / Junior Rockhounds / Adult Rockhounds

We receive some wonderful and helpful feedback from time to time from our website visitors. One of our young visitors (Piper) was doing some research after she volunteered at her school's library to put together a collection of geology related references to help update a library guide. She found another wonderful learning website that she recommended for our learning Page. We have reviewed it and found that it is one of the best websites we have seen in a long while. Thank You Piper! Your research will help a lot of others in their Earth Science endeavors. You have the true spirit of a hard working and valuable young rock and mineral collector!

Please check out Piper’s find at         https://brite.co/education/rocks-minerals-and-precious-stones/

 

http://www.rocksforkids.com/ Rocks for kids
Created in 1999 by Elfi Berndl, a teacher from grades 4 to 13 for over 25 years in Ontario, Canada. This public service web site for kids is about Rocks and Minerals. It was created to provide a non-commercial place for kids and amateur rockhounds to find out basic information on the web. Since its creation, it has become a favorite go-to site for people of all ages and for educators in Canada, the US and Australia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyyJz6zeUsg Quick Mineral Identification
This is a visual introduction to some rocks and Minerals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MvXv66b5h4 Rock and Mineral Identification
A study guide made for the students of Fleming College in Lindsay Ontario Canada and anybody else who might find it
useful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8NhPDjfNNE Differences between some minerals that are often confused.

http://www.kidsgeo.com/geology-games/rocks-game.php "Who am I?" Rock Game
This is an online mineral identification quiz game that lets children learn the properties and characteristics of different Rocks. Adults have fun with this site also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B48-CZH1OVw Types of Meteorites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhlbntm3-tE How to ID / Identify a Meteorite – Stone

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns-fEHPSJK8 The Physics of Meteorites

https://householdquotes.co.uk/home-rock-collecting/
This is a wonderful site with lots of links to many interesting learning sites. This wonderful link was introduced to us by a wonderful woman named Denise Morgan from the United Kingdom! Thank You Denise!

Geology.com is another excellent learning source for all of our friends and fellow rockhounds. They have a wealth of Geology and Earth Science News and Information available. They even have used a couple of SpiritRock Shops photos on their website...click on the logo above to visit their website or you can see the articles that use a couple of our photos by clicking the linls below...

http://geology.com/articles/geodes/, http://geology.com/articles/fluorescent-minerals/

Take some time and visit their site...Many of our customers have told us that no matter what level you are at...there is something for everyone to learn about on this website. Happy knowledge quest!

 

An Excellent Link from some of our Learning Friends...

"I'm reaching out on behalf of the Wyoming Stem Club for Girls to let the SpiritRock Shop know your Learning Page (https://spiritrockshop.com/learning-pages/) was a big help to our club! Right now our group is working on a geology project! We're teaching the girls about a bunch of topics including the different types of rocks and minerals, the rock cycle, how rocks are formed, etc. Your page led us to some great websites to check out, so the girls and I wanted to make sure we thanked you!

With that being said, I was also hoping you could add a suggestion from our club on your page?

One of our girls, Sarah, found this rocks and minerals guide that I was very impressed with! It covers rock creation, rock classification, rocks and minerals quizzes and more! I thought both teachers and students could get some use out of it......

https://www.avasflowers.net/blog/4410-2/ 

(I also loved that it not only covers the science behind rocks, but it has some fun rock collecting ideas! I loved collecting rocks and gems as a kid!)

Can you add a link to it on the page that I mentioned above, under Education for RockPups / Junior Rockhounds / Adult Rockhounds? I would appreciate it so much! I'd love to show Sarah and her parents! I know she'd get a kick out of it! I love encouraging girls in the field of Science...it's so important!

Let me know if you get a chance to update! We meet Thursday evening, if you get a free moment to include it at some point by then! (I know this time of year can be hectic though, so if not, whenever you get a chance to include it is great!) Thanks again!

Wishing you a very Happy New Year,
Mrs. LouAnne Taylor"

 

Thank You Wyoming Stem Club for Girls!...We checked out your recommended link and there is lots of great information there...We are sharing Sarah's find with our Learning Friends. Thank You for sharing this wonderful learning site with us!