13357 Introductory Earth Science Classroom Rocks and Minerals Collection

I think this rock collection is an awesome value for the price. Rock and mineral sets this large and this quality are usually far more expensive. A few of the rocks had gone to visit their neighbors, and one had lost his label, on the trip to my house but that was easy to fix. None of the rocks came broken, and they all look like decent-size, good quality samples. The included booklet seems like a good introduction to earth science and I will read it carefully since I never was exposed to that subject in school (my bad). I recently became interested in rocks and minerals about 6 months ago, and I have bought a couple inexpensive rock and mineral sets where you have to ID the rocks yourselves, and a couple field guides, also a couple mixed bags of polished stones (one of which came with a few rocks and fossils). I struggled with ID'ing the rocks and minerals in the sets I bought, and I think this classroom set of 75 rocks and minerals will help me a great deal as I learn, plus it really looks awesome. It's more money than I've spent on anything else so far, but really worth it. Oh, and the first 9 minerals in this set are the 9 minerals of the Mohs scale, so no need to buy a separate Mohs scale set, which can cost you $15-20 alone. UPDATE: The price has nearly doubled on this since I bought it. Too bad.

Beautiful set of rocks and minerals. I'm impressed with the size of the samples and the variety and all for a really good price. We homeschool and will be using this for a geology study along with Focus on Geology by Rebecca W Keller and Geology Lab For Kids by Garrett Romaine. This set's Introductory guide and catalog list are a wonderful help as to where the rocks and mineral fit in the grander scheme of geology. The set comes with a small white tile, a small bar magnet, nail and a magnifying glass. All items we will need as we catalogue their qualities for our study. Excellent set! I highly recommend it!

I think this is a good set. I had wanted to continue collecting, but many "rock shops" want $5 and up for each sample. To have a sample of common rocks, you don't need ones that are the size of a fist and you don't need to put big money into simple things - save your cash for the real good ones. This set would have potentially cost $300 plus through a shop. Came well packaged with several reference materials and some small testing items.

Nicely packaged and a good set to start your young ones learning geology.

#14 magnetite is not black and is not magnetic. 3 other samples are also suspicious in appearance. Replacement kit is on the way, which I will also carefully inspect. Still, it is a good set of samples overall. I will be using this, the second set of mine, to crack and crush for microscope inspection. I bought the black steel rock crusher which works really well for this activity.

For the price I think the kit works just fine. The kit includes a magnet, magnifying glass, streak plate, and several informational sheets. I read some of the previous reviews and yes the magnifying glass is small and the box rather flimsy but it is an introductory course and it’s the same magnifying glass, magnet, and streak plate I purchased at my university when studying geology. Each of the samples are relatively small but more than adequate to acquire the basic concepts of identifying varying types of rocks and minerals. I find it useful and a study guide to refresh my memory of each rock samples. I wasn’t sure what came in the kit when I bought it so I listed all of the items below. There are some samples I would have preferred not to have and others that I would have liked to see in an introductory kit, however, again for the price it works just fine. If you desire larger samples or a sturdier box – shell out more money and look for a higher priced item. Minerals: Talc, gypsum, calcite, fluorite, apatite-triphyllite, feldspar, quartz, beryl-topaz, corundum, feldspar variety microcline, hematite, gypsum, limonite, halite, sphalerite, barite, obsidian, pyrite, mica variety muscovite, mica variety biotite, calcite, dolomite, amphibole variety hornblende, feldspar variety plagioclase, kaolinite, olivine, pyroxene (augite), garnet Ores: Sulfur, graphite, kyanite, vermiculite, bauxite, pyrolusite, malachite Igneous Rocks: Pumice, scoria, basalt, felsite (rhyolite), granite, pegmatite, syenite, diorite, basalt porphyry, gabbro, trachyte porphyry, pitchstone, andesite Sedimentary Rocks: Arkose, sandstone, fossiliferous limestone, bituminous coal, oolitic limestone, compact limestone, chalk, limestone, travertine, conglomerate, shale, oolite, oil shale, red sandstone Metamorphic Rocks: Slate, marble, quartzite, hornfels, mica schist, chlorite schist, phyllite, gneiss, anthracite coal

This is a fine product. A nice, attractive and educational rock and mineral collection. They came a bit jumbled, but organizing the specimens was enjoyable and interesting in itself. This is the only such effective collection that I have seen so far; it is educational, organized, interesting and fun for any age. I have been collecting rocks and minerals for more than 70 years, and I think it is a wonderfully educational tool. Kids will love it and so will intelligent and curious adults. I'd give it ten stars if I could. Oh, it came with a spongy cover for the specimens, so such complaints are now needless. Keep it in the box and the plastic organizer is more than strong enough. I have no complaints!