ESCONI Juniors Activities

These activities are available for the ESCONI show, STEM events at schools, and other educational events. Contact Eric Gyllenhaal at gyllenfish@aol.com for more information.

Iron Rocks and Magnets. This activity lets children experiment with magnets and a variety of rock types – including magnetite, iron-rich rocks that attracted to magnets, and some completely non-magnetic rock types. Each specimen has a glued-on identification label. Additional labels include instructions and a chart that children can use to sort the rocks by type and magnetic properties.

Iron Rocks and Magnets activity as set up at the 2023 CGMA show.

Flipping Geodes. At this hands-on exhibit children can turn over half geodes to see the variety of geode types found worldwide and the sorts of minerals they include. Children are also challenged to find the three or four matching pairs of geode halves. Books about geodes provide additional information about geodes and similar rock features.

Flipping Geodes activity as set up at the 2023 CGMA show. The most recent version also includes several books about geodes.

Classify Rocks. This activity was developed from classification concepts discussed and illustrated in a children’s book about Dave’s Down-to-Earth Rock Shop in Evanston, Illinois. Children use charts to classify a variety of rock types based on size and color. We also include one or more copies of the book and a label with information about Dave Douglass, former owner of the rock shop and a long-time ESCONI member.

Classify Rocks activity as set up at the 2023 CGMA show.

ESCONI Spinner. At the ESCONI show and some ESCONI STEM events, we use a one-spinner version of this activity. At the show children get three spins for a dollar, and each specimen they win comes in a zippered bag with a label (examples on the in the second photo, below). At STEM events in schools, children spin for free.

ESCONI Juniors spinner as set up at the 2023 ESCONI show.
ESCONI Juniors spinner specimens available as of 2024.

Neighborhood Rocks. At the Neighborhood Rocks activity children select six specimens of rocks commonly used as landscape stones in the Chicago area. We provide a zippered plastic bag with an inserted identification chart for children to take their rocks home. Signs include identification and other information about the six rock types. A link on the bag inserts and a QR code on a label direct participants to a web page with more information about the six rock types: https://natureswapshop.org/neighborhoodrocks/

Neighborhood Rocks activity at a STEM event on November 16, 2024. Children could select 6 types of landscape stones from the box, put them in a labeled bag, and take them home.

Dolostone: The Illinois State Rock. Dolostone was officially designated the Illinois State Rock in 2022. This exhibit uses labels, specimens, and props to step visitors through the 430-million-year-old story of the Silurian dolostone quarried in the Chicago area. Children can take home zippered bags with dolostone samples from a local quarry – and adults can take home a bag of dolostone, too, since Illinois did not have a state rock when they were growing up. A label with a QR code and an insert in each bag link to a web page with more information about the Illinois State Rock: https://natureswapshop.org/dolostone/

Dolostone activity at a STEM event on November 2024. Children and adults could learn about the recently designated Illinois State Rock at this hands-on exhibit and take home a small, labeled bag of dolostone for their collection.