Education Outreach

Hey kids, looking for something to do?

Check out Diamond Dan’s Publications for sample Mini Miners newsletters. They contain fun information and activities!

The Mineralogical Society of America also offers activities at
Mineralogy4Kids

Giving Back to the Community

The Payson Rimstones Rock Club is dedicated to offering education outreach programs for Payson and its surrounding communities. We offer after-school rock-related opportunities for the Payson Library, Pine Library, the Parks & Recreation Department, and other youth-oriented organizations. If you are interested in having one, or more, of our programs provided to your organization or club, please contact us at… Education Coordinator

Look below at some of the education opportunities that currently exist…

Fun with Fossils

Everyone enjoys a day of learning and hands-on fun. Participants make fossils in clay and play fossil-related games. You get to see and touch real fossils collected around the Payson area. This event is geared towards the younger rock-hounds.

Rocks on the Rim

Participants (young and old) of this event learn about the many types of rocks on the Mogollon Rim. There are plenty of displays showcasing sandstone, jasper, geodes, granite and Payson Diamonds (quartz). Handouts are provided including rock-hounding guides from the BLM and the USFS.

Fluorescents – Rocks that Glow

How cool is that? Everyone who attends this event gets to see fluorescing rocks and will learn what makes them fluoresce. Black-box displays showcase the brilliance of fluorescent rocks and minerals. If you are lucky, you can take home a piece of a fluorescent rock (like fluorite).

Volcanics

It’s going to be a BLAST! If you ever wanted to know about volcanoes and what types of rocks are created by them, then this is the activity for you. The Education Team has a “working” volcano so you can see how the lava develops and spews out the top. You will see some of the types of rocks and minerals that are thrown out of a volcano or stay inside and are created under immense heat and pressure. There are activities for all grade levels (even adults). …and if that wasn’t enough, participants go home with some rock/mineral samples that came from volcanoes.

Cool Rocks – New Mexico

This program has a little bit of everything. Cool rocks from the area, a possible river walk and in-field collecting. Everyone attending gets to take home a free polished rock and other souvenir rocks collected in the area.

Scholarships

Of course, the greatest education outreach is our Scholarships. Each year, we award anywhere from $5000 to $7000 in scholarship money to help students from Northern Gila County.

Activities in 2026

July Library Program for Payson Kids
On July 8th our Education Team had a blast at the Payson Library sharing our love for rocks with a great group of youngsters. There were several activities planned for the day.
There was the Fun with Fossils station where kids learned about how fossils are made and even got to practice making their own fossils in clay. Also, they played pin the tail on the Dinosaur and won some cool prizes.
Another activity station was dedicated to Mining in Arizona. The young participants learned about the types of mining and what was primarily mined in the state of Arizona. The kids did a word search and at the end received a “gem” from the treasure chest to take home.
Another activity station was all about Geodes. Kids learned the different ways that geodes are formed and then they were allowed to crack open a “geode” to get the crystal hidden inside.
At the end of the program, we passed out gift bags that included rocks, minerals and fossils that were discussed during the program. Also included in the gift bags were dinosaur necklaces, stickers and… dino candy!