Guide Picks - 4 Top Rock Collections

Any of these suppliers will get you a decent set of starter rocks, one with stones large enough to experiment with that serve as realistic examples of the kind of rocks you're likely to find around you. Where they differ is mostly in the amount of extras that come with them: explanatory pamphlets, magnifiers, and streak plates. You can get those elsewhere, though. I've also marked down suppliers who don't list all the rock types in their collections.

1) Rocksandminerals.com A variety of collections are available here, some including identification tools. The choice of rocks is sound. This source also has bags of unmarked rocks for your collector to identify.

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2) Rocks in a Hard Place
There is virtue in modesty; look in the Educational Materials section for a selection of basic rock kits so inexpensive you can easily mix and match them. But the quality of every kit is very good. You may want a separate magnifier besides the ones in the box.

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3) Edmund Scientific
The 75 Introductory Earth Science Collection is a good choice for an upgrade collection, with a fairly thorough learning approach. It may overwhelm someone who's too young or not strongly interested.

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4) Science Mall
Online Science Mall has a large selection of rock and mineral kits covering geographic areas, physical properties and more, though the specimens are not large.

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		• Before You Buy Rock Collections

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