John Schutkeker wrote:

: This was the final paragraph of yesterday's (Jan 9) JPL press release for
: the Mars Rover, as posted on their web ste. Does anybody else find a
: little preposterous this request that kids all over America send their
: backyard rocks to ASU?

: It seems to me that geologists should know enough geology that this isn't
: necessary, as well as that ASU will receive huge piles of rock that they'll
: have to dispose of somehow. As well as shipping costs and heavy labor
: required to transport them. This seems like a heckuva waste.

I attended ASU, and the last thing they need is more rocks. ;-)
Actually, this sounds more like a PR/contest kind of thing than seriouis
geological research. I imagine the relatively few kids who send in rocks
will get some kind of educational/promo literature on Mars rocks and maybe
even a 'scientific' classification of the type of rock they sent in -- provided
by grad students getting a lesson in quick summary appraisals.
I seem to recall, from elementary school days, there was once a
similar science 'project' involving fossils. Students hunted fossils (found
from suitable stones, usually from leftover building materials) and the
teacher sent them in. Of course, the fossils found were all of minor ocean
critters/shells, but the class got back a letter from wherever that basically
said "XXX class of species, YYY era" and the class went from there. Sort of
an introduction to the field.

regards,
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