Rock and Mineral Raffles
For an Earth and Space science teacher, part of the excitement of attending an NSTA conference on Science Education is participating in the NESTA Rock and Mineral Raffle where participants purchase chances to win awesome rock and mineral specimens from all around the world! Proceeds from the Rock and Mineral Raffle assists NESTA in keeping our dues low, making these events a win-win for teachers and NESTA!
We are always in search of specimens for our Rock and Mineral Raffles, and there are plenty of nice specimens out there looking for a good home. Search your collection for duplicates, call your local rock and mineral club, and call the geology department of your local college or university for donations. Don’t worry if your specimens are "common" since common is a relative term. Participants in the Rock and Mineral Raffle come from around the country including locations where hard-rock bedrock cannot be found and have little in the way of sedimentary formations. Educators are always looking for quality hand samples for their students. If you are donating, please be sure that you label each specimen with what is known about it such as the identity, its origin, who collected it, uses, etc. Click here to download a specimen label form.
Rock and Mineral Raffles are also billed as a give-away. If you have samples that you think educators would enjoy having for their classrooms, please send those as well. In the past we have given away sand samples and state-stones, books, maps, and other resources that are likely to be useful to Earth and space science teachers. If you do have items for the give-away please provide proper identification by using the specimen labels.
There are a couple of different ways to get the samples to NESTA for the Rock and Mineral Raffles. One way is to carry the samples to the conference, and the other way is to ship them to our designated receivers The USPS has a flat rate Priority Box (2-3 days delivery) that as they say, "Any weight, any State, $8.95. No matter which Flat Rate Box you choose, the postage is $8.95, regardless of weight or destination." At this rate you can afford to send lots. The boxes are free from your post office and are self-sealing so you don’t have to search for tape.
NESTA arranges for a local person to receive your shipment (the "receiver" mentioned above) and see that the raffle specimens arrive safely at the NESTA Rock Raffle. The receivers for each NESTA Rock Raffle are listed below. Please send items directly to them at the address indicated. Be sure to allow enough time for shipping. If you are personally bringing the specimens to the conference please contact Wilene Rigsby at quartzlady@sbcglobal.net to arrange on site delivery.
March 21, 2009
Philadelphia, PA
Missy Holzer
266 Edgeware Ct
Somerset, NJ 08873
(732) 868-0901
mholzer@monmouth.com
