Support for long-term classroom planning and professional development. Information covering important topics for today's educators and parents. Visitors to the site can see animations that illustrate the formation of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. A slide show is used to introduce safety equipment and procedures for the collection of samples. The site provides pictures and background information for eleven types of rocks.
Students can take electronic quizzes and solve puzzles to review the site's information.
Lesson plans on the site invite classes to organize rock swaps, study the effects of erosion, and investigate the rock cycle. One activity for students in grades K to 5 focuses on metamorphic rocks. They compare the weights of their simulated composite rocks and use toothpicks to mine out the various components. Teachers can submit their own lesson plans to share on the site and students can use the links to search engines when they gather additional information. Requires a Java enabled browser to work the puzzles.