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Earth Rocks!

Cub Scouts · Adventure, Elective

Printable worksheet (PDF)

This adventure turns you into a rock detective. You'll find and crack open rocks, test how hard minerals are, and even grow your own crystal. Rocks are everywhere, so you can start exploring in your own backyard.

Why it's worth it

The rocks under your feet tell stories millions of years long: about volcanoes, ancient seas, and mountains being squeezed and pushed up. You'll crack open rocks, test minerals like a geologist, and grow your own crystals. After this, a gravel driveway or a stone wall will look like a puzzle you know how to read.

Start this week

  1. Collect five different rocks from your yard, a park path, or a creek bed (where collecting is allowed).
  2. Gather a mineral test kit from home: a penny, a steel nail, a small glass plate, and your own fingernail.
  3. Start a salt or sugar crystal jar with your adult today so it has time to grow.

Plan ahead: Crystals in requirement 4 can take several days to a week or more to grow. Start your jar first and check it while you work on the rest.

Stay safe

  • Wear safety glasses when breaking rocks, keep fingers clear of the hammer, and let an adult handle borax or hot water for crystals.

Requirements · 4

Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab).

  1. Requirement 1

    Examine the three kinds of rock: sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic

    Tip: Collect a few rocks or use a rock kit. Sort them into the three types and look closely with a magnifying glass.

    For example: Sedimentary rocks like sandstone often have layers or bits of sand. Igneous rocks like granite have speckled crystals, and pumice is full of tiny holes. Metamorphic rocks like slate split into flat sheets.

  2. Requirement 2

    Find a rock, break it open safely, and examine it

    Tip: Wrap a rock in an old towel and tap it with a hammer while wearing safety glasses, with an adult helping.

    For example: Wrap the rock in an old towel or put it in a cloth bag, put on safety glasses, and have your adult help you tap it with a hammer on a hard surface. Compare the fresh inside to the weathered outside.

  3. Requirement 3

    Make a mineral test kit and test minerals on the Mohs hardness scale; with a rock cycle chart or similar, discuss how hardness decides which materials are used in homes, landscaping, or recreation

    Tip: Gather a penny, a nail, and a piece of glass. Scratch your minerals with each and record the results. Look at a rock cycle chart and talk about why hard rocks make good buildings and soft ones make chalk.

    For example: Test each mineral in order: does your fingernail scratch it? A penny? A steel nail? Does it scratch glass? Talc is soft enough for a fingernail; quartz scratches glass. Record the results in a chart.

  4. Requirement 4

    Grow a crystal

    Tip: Grow crystals from salt, sugar, or borax in a jar with an adult. Check on them every day.

    For example: Stir salt into very warm water until no more dissolves, pour it into a jar, and hang a string from a pencil across the top. Keep it where it won't be bumped and check every day.

Places to visit

Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.

  • A natural history museum or a university geology collection

    You can see huge crystals, meteorites, and fossils, and compare them with the rocks you found.

    How: Have your adult check the museum's website for family days, or ask the geology department if they hold open houses.

  • A rock and mineral club show

    Collectors love explaining their finds and often have free specimens or activities for kids.

    How: Have your adult search for a local gem and mineral show and go together as a family or den.

Talk about it together

  • Which rock did you find most surprising, and what do you think its story is?
  • What did the inside of your broken rock look like compared with the outside?
  • Why do you think builders choose hard rocks for some jobs and soft ones for others?
  • What did you notice as your crystal grew each day?
  • Where would you like to go hunting for rocks next?

Helpful reads

For leaders & parents

  • Ask a rock club or nature center to bring samples to a den meeting.
  • Start the crystal project early since crystals need several days to grow.

People & places that can help

Pairs well with

Counts toward

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Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.