API-Coastal support for the Rock Boxes for Schools project
The API-Coastal chapter is the financial sponsor for the Rock Box project, which provides mineral kits for local schools. This program was created by the Tri-Club Education Committee of Ventura County, (A cooperative effort of the Oxnard, Ventura, & Conejo Gem & Mineral Societies), whose other projects include: Fossil Kits, & Books for Schools (also sponsored by API-Coastal).
The goal of the Rock Box is to teach and get students interested in Earth Science. The Rock Box is a commercial quality kit that consists of three different trays, representing the three rock types: Sedimentary, Metamorphic and Igneous. Each tray has 12 compartments for samples. The Rock Box weighs about 37 pounds filled and complete. It can be separated into three trays for easier transportation or if the instructor only needs one rock type displayed at a time. The rock samples are fist sized specimens, large enough for the kids to see what the rock actually looks like. The kit also includes a 150 page Teacher’s Guidebook filled with suggested classroom activities for different grade levels along with ten information sheets. The Ventura County Library System has also assembled grade level books to checkout for use with the Rock Box. The Rock Box has been created and donated to Ventura County Public Schools and the Ventura County Library System by the Tri-Club Education Committee of Ventura County. You can reserve the Rock Box by calling E.P. Foster Library at 805-648-2715. The Library will send the kit to your nearest county library for pick-up before the requested date.
API-Coastal has provided the funds for the materials & construction of the boxes. Currently more than half the local public schools have received a Rock Box kit, with more in the works. You can see the Rock Box kit and speak to members of the Committee at the local Gem and Mineral shows held annually in Ventura, Oxnard, and Thousand Oaks.
- Ventura (in March): http://vgms.org/
- Oxnard (in November): http://oxnardgem.com/home/
- Thousand Oaks (in May): http://www.cgamc.org/