Geodes.  What are they? And what can I do with Geodes?

Teachers, do you need an activity that is hands on for your students that will be fun and educational? If so, we have the right product for you! 

Geodes come in a variety of shapes, sizes and types!

With the help of these rocks, you will be able to show your students a wide variety of topics that they will be sure to remember.

Geology class is most likely the first thing to come to mind, which is in fact a great way to utilize these rocks. They can make a great topic for any geology project and have a long history and many different forms that can be researched. But there are many other ways to make geodes a great resource for your classroom.
 

Moroccan Geodes- 20 Ct. 2"		Amethyst Geodes- 20 Ct. 2"
Click pictures to view product

Some educational applications include:

Science class, where the students can be taught what they are, how they were created, the many colors they come in, what parts of the world they come from, what kinds of crystals are inside, the density of the rocks, and to overall learn about rocks and crystals.

In science class, students can conduct experiments where they create their own crystals along with breaking open a geode that contains real crystals. They can complete a worksheet during their experiment that compares real crystals with the ones they created.

Smithsonian Electric Crystal Growing Kit		Crystal Growing Experiment Kit
Click pictures to view Crystal Growing Kits

Math class, who would think about using rocks in a math class?

But these rocks can be used to learn the volume of objects, and how to measure circumference.

If you have kinesthetic learners in your classroom, they may have difficulty understanding certain topics that you are teaching. When they are able to be hands on they can absorb the topic and learn the topic! When you use geodes in the classroom, you are able to show these students in person.

Due to the shape and size varying from rock to rock, students are able to measure the different sizes and get practice on the subject. All combined with the anticipation of breaking open these rocks to see the crystals that could be waiting inside.


These geodes can be a great tool to utilize in youth ministry along with VBS groups!

If you are teaching a Church youth group, these rocks can be used to show the inner beauty that lies within, and how God looks on the inside.

For Vacation Bible School, you can use these rocks for both a Cave Quest station along with a Camp out Weekend. For both of these activities, geodes can be a fun activity where the kids get to smash them open to reveal sparkling crystals that represent a reminder that no matter what, we can have the amazing hope of Jesus inside of them. They can also represent just how much Jesus’ light shines through them.

When talking to youth about beauty, it can be hard to show a visual representation of inner beauty. But with Geodes, they are able to see the hard, rocky exterior, and open up those not so pretty exteriors to reveal beautiful and sparkly crystals. This represents that no matter what something looks on the out side, there can be beauty lying within. It teaches to never judge a book by its cover, and that first impressions can be very wrong.

Rough Exterior		Beautiful Crystals Inside
Unopened Geode		Opened Geode

Just curious about the different types of geodes? Here is some information about them!

Geodes are rocks that are plain on the outside but can have beautiful crystals on the inside. These crystals come in a wide array of shapes, sizes, and level of shine. Geodes are created in hollow areas of soil and are also formed in the bubbles of volcanic rock. After time has passed, dissolved minerals seep into the hollow rocks which harden into an outer shell which forms the geode. The minerals continue to form and grow to the center which can lead to Amethyst and other minerals being formed.

It can take millions of years for the space inside a geode to be filled, but many geodes remain hollow with crystals lining the inside edges. When a geode is completely filled with crystals it is known as a nodule.

Geodes can be found all around the world but especially in concentrated deserts and volcanic areas. A big deposit of geodes come from the country of Morocco and Mexico.

Depending on the crystal, geodes can be in a variety of colors, including purple Amethyst. Crystals have flat cleat surfaces which leads to reflecting lights and having a beautiful sparkle.

Two of the most popular geodes include our Moroccan & Mexican Amethyst Geodes.

These are both amazing geodes but they offer different surprises inside.

Moroccan Geodes produce beautiful white crystals on the inside, and have a plain, typically limestone, outside. Most of these geodes are hollow inside and are lined with quartz crystals or Chalcedony deposits. The color of the crystals that this geode produces has been described as sugary white and sparkly with many different sizes of crystals. There are some Moroccan geodes that are completely filled with crystals, which in that case they are considered to be a nodule. Sometimes, there is a rare occurrence in these geodes, called quartz snowballs. They are found within these geodes and are a quartz cluster that is not attached to the geode itself, but is only created within.

Moroccan Geodes- 20 Ct. 2"		Classroom Bulk Pack- 200 Ct. 2"
Moroccan Geodes- 10 Ct. 3"		Single Cantelope Geode 6"-8"

Mexican Amethyst geodes produce a naturally colorful rock. Many of the geodes may contain beautiful natural small purple Amethyst Point(s).  Many geodes have crystals inside waiting to be discovered!  Some geodes will contain small fine amethyst clusters, others may have larger amethyst points and some will have just multicolored rock layers. The outside of Amethyst geodes tend to be colored and contain shades of purple and orange. These geodes tend to be more solid than the Moroccan geodes. 

Amethyst Geodes- 20 Ct. 2"		Amethyst Geodes- 40 Ct. 1.5"
Amethyst Geodes- 10 Ct. 3"		Amethyst Geodes- 10 Ct. 2"

You can also view how to break or cut your own geodes here!