You can pick up rocks just about anywhere: in your backyard, in your neighborhood, or while on a trip. Use a special book called a field guide to help you identify your rocks.

See if you can find...

• a rock with different types of mineral crystals in it. Minerals look like colored specks in the rock. Each type of mineral may be a different color and shape.
  
  
• a rock with a sandy texture. If you rub it, you can feel the grains coming off.
  
  
• a rock with horizontal layers.
  
  
• a rock with a fossil in it. (It could be a fossil of a leaf, shell, insect, or another living creature.)

These field guides can help you on your search:

• National Audubon Society First Field Guide: Rocks and Minerals by Edward Ricciuti and Margaret W. Carruthers (Scholastic Inc., 1998)
  
  
• Macmillan Field Guides: Rocks and Minerals by Pat Bell and David Wright (Macmillan, 1985)