Best Recipes
for Success

Based upon more than 10 years of presenting these courses, I have some recommendations that ensure a great experience for your students!

What a school needs to provide and prepare:
– A single dedicated room for the class sessions to be presented in (same room all day, same room for day 2 if presenting on 2 days).
– Room must be lockable overnight if presenting on multiple days, or if setting up on a previous day.
– A room somewhat near an entry that rocks can be loaded from (keep in mind rocks are heavy, and I’ll be bringing a lot). Please – NO STAIRS (though elevators are OK).
– A cart to move rocks from vehicle to presentation room (think truck full of heavy rocks).
– Setup/knockdown time and access that does not conflict with bus loading and car riders (can be, and likely will be, before/after school day).
– Tables for classes [Rocks/Minerals = 5;  Fossils = 5;  Quartz = 2-3].
– Dark colored butcher paper (black, navy, brown preferred) to protect tables – I will put paper on tables after I arrive as I bring cushioned covers to be placed under paper to help protect tables.
– Magnifying glasses for the students to use (not every student needs one – but most will want one).
– Computer and Projector in room (for a very simple short PowerPoint).
– Please discuss schedule considerations with Mr. Dan at the beginning of your planning.

Other things to know:
– More students per session = less individual interaction time.
– For larger session groups (over 35 students),  2 teachers/adults must be present.
– Taking pictures is OK  (both for teachers and students if you allow them)!
– Please let me know about any special accommodations needed for specific students.
– Questions are welcome and encouraged – let your students know that too many questions during the initial discussion takes away from hands-on time, and Mr. Dan the Rock Man walks around during hands-on time to answer additional questions.
– Arrive on-time to sessions, get students seated quickly. Classes are fast-paced and cover a lot of material.

Ideal Room Setup:
– The ideal setup is for tables to be placed in a U-Shape with room to walk around them, students sitting on the floor in the middle at the start of a session, and a projector screen in the front of the room behind the curve in the “U”.  Exact room configuration is not critical – I’ve presented in many different settings from classrooms to trailers to gyms – I’ll work with the space you have.
– Obviously, rooms need to be large enough to seat the students – but they only sit for a short period.
– Tables should already be in room when I arrive, I can move them around for best fit if needed.
– Flat individual tables are far better than desks “nested-together”. Nested desks often have slight variations in height and also can slip away from each other, these may cause a rock to fall while students are exploring.

Ideally the room setup would be something similar to this diagram
(plus/minus # of tables/students) :