Specialty Rocks
Rock specimens are useful for studying textures, grain sizes, and other features altered by pressure, temperature, and other natural forces. Different select categories of rock specimens are available for purchase as well, including metamorphic, igneous, and sedimentary rocks. Sets of rock specimens are housed in compartmentalized collection boxes, with descriptions of each specimen printed for easy confirmation of identification. These rock specimens are carefully selected to be the highest quality to provide students with a suitable introduction to earth materials and their characteristics.
Ward's® GEO-Logic Types of Fossilization Topic Set
Define and compare ways organisms have been preserved.
Ward's® Mantle Xenolith
Glossy green dunite (olivine) inclusion in non-genetically related basalt. Average size: 3" x 4".
Ward's® Cross-bedded Sandstone
Sawn and lacquered slab showing thinly bedded truncated layers in a well-cemented sandstone. Large hand specimen.
Algal Stromatolite (Cynobacteria) (PreCambrian)
Beautifully polished and distinctive slabs or rare 2.3 billion year old fossil stromatolites. Well defined growth structures in matrix.
Ward's® Porphyry
Shows porphyritic texture in a fine dark matrix abundant large feldspar phenocrysts. Hand specimen.
Ward's® Stretch Pebble Conglomerate
Deformed pebbles in a metamorphased conglomerate. Large sawed and lacquered specimen.
Ward's® Fulgurite
Unusual glassy tubes of fused sand produced by lightning strikes in desert sediments. Average size: 1.5"- 2".
Pocket Hardness Points Set
Students determine a mineral's hardness between five and 10 on Mohs' scale.