[Rockhounds] Help request

[Neal Hazen]

Hi,
 
I'm Neal Hazen, and I belong to the same Rock, Gem and Mineral club as Glenn Wimpee. I have been a listmember for quite some time, but as I'm not a mineralogist all I've done is read and learn. And I have learned! Thanks to you folks, my interest in mineralogy has increased dramatically.  
Week before last, I ran across an article on the Web about granite countertops, and if one's countertop was really made of granite. This lead to a discussion of the feldspars, and other igneous rocks. Well, my memory is far from what it used to be, so I'm having to re-read most of this material to get it to sink in, and stay. But I have good reason to make the effort. At out last gem show, a guest asked me if I would give a geology presentation to his Cub Scouts, to help them on their merit badges. I agreed, but he hasn't called since. Even so, I am a retired school teacher, and the request reawakened the "bug" in me. I would like to put together a teaching set of rocks and minerals to use in giving presentations to the local school science classes. One of the reasons for this, of course, is to get more young people interested in geology and mineralogy. Another reason is to promote awareness of, and appreciation for, the beautiful and useful rocks and
 minerals around us. Along with the rock samples, I'd like to acquire images of the formations these specimens most often occur in.  I am anticipating that the students will be best served if the specimens are about fist-sized, and if there are enough of each type to emphasize the variability some rocks and minerals display. I already have some small examples of gem variety materials that I can use. In such cases, I would cut a cabochon to go with the rough specimen.
I live on a fixed income, so any advice as to cheap/free sources would be most helpful. Please reply offlist to batsondebelfry at yahoo.com. 
I am especially interested in: andesite, gabbro, basalt, diorite, porphyry, amphibole, granodiorite, anorthosite, pyroxenite, syenite, gneiss, schist, monzonite, syenogranite, monzogranite, and dacite.
I have a lot to learn, myself, before attempting to teach, but consider this - one salient reason few students go into the geology and mineralogy fields is they have no exposure to it. Here in the south, most of the rocks are covered with large deposits of sand and clay. Kids with ability take classes in either biology, chemistry or physics. The less able students have a very small exposure in their general science classes. Very few science teachers have either the knowledge, or the experience, to make these units enjoyable.
I also intend to include examples of different products that contain mined components.
Again, any ideas or info you care to share will be most appreciated.

Yours truly,
 
Neal Hazen 
 
"Some people learn through reading. A few others learn by observation. Most of us have to pee on the electric fence for ourselves."
Will Rogers


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