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BYO: Build Your Own rock kits

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Too often I have seen ‘complete’ rock kits for sale that either have too many different samples or not enough.  To make matters worse the samples are too small and too easily lost or broken or just not big enough to see the detail you need to teach from.

Then there is the problem of replacement parts of the kits.  Usually you have to buy another whole kit just to replace a few pieces that are missing here and there.

Enter ROCKHOUNDZ  and the BYO Rock Kit.  Don’t reinvent the wheel preparing teaching material to suit a kit that someone else put together for you.  BYO – Build Your Own kit that suits the content you have prepared for the classroom.  If you lose a piece just replace that piece.  If you want to add a piece then add just that piece.

And you can buy from Rockhoundz knowing that we can tell you what you need to know to add to your content – where did it come from?  how old is it?  These are the specialised details that we include with your samples to help you in the classroom.

And just like with the obsidian – if you send us a special request we will be like a dog at a bone until we dig up a decent sample for you.
See you round the ridges,
Angus

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Rock star: Obsidian

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Did you know that most of the obsidian you see for sale is actually fake?  That’s the reason it has taken us so long to find some that we are willing to have in the shop.

Some of the newest rock money can buy, this obsidian is only 129 years old from the Mt Tarawera volcanic eruption in June 1886 in the Bay of Plenty Region, New Zealand.  Formed at the margins of rhyolitic flows it also contains pumice and perlite inclusions formed by contact with groundwater.

In the classroom, explore differences in structure compared to other rocks from felsic lava such as pumice.

Colour: black to black/green

Fracture: conchoidal

Mohs hardness :5-6

This obsidian has been collected for us by a geologist in New Zealand, so we will guarantee that it is the real deal and absolutely not fake so it has the Angus Seal of Approval

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The Western Victorian Volcanic Plains (or Newer Volcanic Province) Part 2

The Hound headed west from Sunbury and passed a memorial to Harry Houdini (near Plumpton), who conducted the first powered flight in Australia (a bit more about links to Harry later). After driving several hours more in the rain, we were in Hamilton and lodged at Murroa Station near the western limit of the plains and overlooked by Mt Napier which was the site of the most recent eruption some 7200 years ago. This is so recent that the sound it made-Murroa- has been passed down in local aboriginal spoken history, hence the name of the station.

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Mt Napier (M. Rowe)

One of the hounds (Skip) at Murroa and his master took us to see the scoria flow off Mt Napier. Now Skip has a special talent, apart from being a great sheep dog, he can slip his collar, no matter how tight it is. A bit of a Houdini character if you ask this Hound.

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Scoria flow to the right (west) from Mt Napier

In Part 3, The Hound heads back east to Organ Pipes National Park (but they wouldn’t let him in because he’s a dog).