This complete set contains one specimen of each of the following 15 rocks and minerals. Every stone is sized 3–5 cm so students can easily handle, examine and identify them. The set arrives in a sturdy drawstring bag and includes three colour-coded identification and information charts (Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic).

Perfect for New Zealand classrooms, home-education programmes and nature-study groups.

Igneous Rocks

Igneous rocks form when molten rock (magma or lava) cools and solidifies. Slow cooling deep underground produces larger crystals; rapid cooling near the surface produces fine crystals or glass.

1. Clear Quartz – A hard, glassy mineral (SiO₂). Transparent to translucent with a vitreous lustre.
2. Black Obsidian – Natural volcanic glass formed when lava cools extremely quickly. Sharp conchoidal fracture.
3. Labradorite – A plagioclase feldspar that often shows a striking iridescent play of colours (labradorescence).
4. Sunstone – A feldspar that sparkles with golden or reddish glitter caused by tiny plate-like inclusions.
5. Pyrite – Iron sulfide mineral with a metallic brass-yellow colour. Commonly known as “fool’s gold”.

Sedimentary Rocks

Sedimentary rocks form from the accumulation, compaction and cementation of sediments, or by chemical precipitation and evaporation.

1. Limestone – A rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate (calcite), often formed from the remains of marine organisms.
2. Gypsum – A soft sulfate mineral (calcium sulfate dihydrate) that forms by evaporation of seawater.
3. Rock Salt (Halite) – The mineral form of sodium chloride. Forms when salty water evaporates.
4. Red Jasper – A dense, opaque variety of microcrystalline quartz coloured red by iron oxides.
5. Green Flower Agate – A chalcedony (agate) showing distinctive flower-like or plume inclusions, often with green tones.

Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic rocks form when existing rocks are changed by heat, pressure or chemically active fluids deep in the Earth’s crust.

1. Serpeggiante – A variety of marble (metamorphosed limestone) with distinctive wavy, serpentine-style veining.
2. Tiger Eye – A golden-brown quartz that displays a silky chatoyant (cat’s-eye) effect when polished.
3. Purple Fluorite – Calcium fluoride mineral that commonly forms attractive purple cubic crystals.
4. Ruby Zoisite – A striking metamorphic rock of green zoisite containing red ruby (corundum) crystals and often black amphibole.
5. Lapis Lazuli – A deep-blue metamorphic rock composed mainly of the mineral lazurite, frequently with golden pyrite flecks.

What’s Included

• 15 individual specimens (3–5 cm each)
• Three durable drawstring bags
• Three colour identification & information charts (Igneous / Sedimentary / Metamorphic)