Collecting stamps provides a wonderful educational experience. You get to find out about the many different countries of the world and the people, places, and things they consider important. Collecting sea shells connects you with life in the seas which cover three-fourths of our planet. Collecting meteorites puts you in touch with other worlds in our solar system.
Some meteorites even contain remnants of materials formed before our solar system even existed.
My other pastimes include art and photography , genealogy , music and opera , theatre , and television . As a child I collected U. S. coins of all types. Now I collect Roman coins of the Syrian Roman emperors, especially Elagabalus , which depict the sacred stone of Emesa. This stone, which was probably a meteorite , ties into my interests in astronomical catastrophism . I also collect coins bearing images of endangered wildlife such as the okapi , mountain gorilla , and pygmy hippopotamus .