ROCK PALS

When you were in school, you may have been partnered with kids from schools in towns and countries far-and-wide to become Pen Pals in a letter-exchange program. Patricia Egolf of the Gem & Mineral Society of Syracuse, New York, has instituted a new spin on this for junior rockhounds, namely, establishing a "Rock Pals" program in conjunction with our AFMS Future Rockhounds of America program.

Kids love the different rocks, minerals, and fossils to be found across our great nation, but they can't always afford to buy them or to travel to collect them. But how wonderful it would be for juniors in a club to band together to collect local samples to trade with juniors in other clubs across the country! With that in mind, Patricia has volunteered to establish and oversee "Rock Pals." A club would gather between 20 and 25 local specimens in sizes small enough for all to fit in a $10.95 flat-rate box available at the post office and, after making arrangements with another club, each would mail a box to each other.

Clubs interested in participating should contact either Patricia Egolf (phone 315-471-1758, email Pjegardensaol.com) or, as a back-up, Jim Brace-Thompson (phone 805-659-3577, email jbracethroadrunner.com). They'll be building and maintaining a list of clubs interested in participating that your club can contact and start the ball rolling. As a start, we've already heard from clubs in New York, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, and Washington, so we have all four corners of the nation covered, with a few points between!

Last Revised on October 17, 2011
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