With Father’s Day approaching, you may need some gift ideas for the geology-loving dad in your life—allow me to help with that! We will also look at how GeoLifestyle readers incorporate geology into their lifestyles, courtesy of more than a dozen submissions after last week’s request.
Father’s Day Gift Ideas
Father’s Day is 16 June, and if you’re stressing about what to get the geology-loving dad in your life—or you are that geology-loving dad, and nobody knows what to get for you—these ideas are sure to spark some inspiration!
Replacement clothing:
If your dad is the type who gets holes in all his favorite outfits, loses things easily, or just wears through clothes pretty fast, consider replacing some of his staples!
Get him some new warm-weather socks for when you hike together, a new lightweight raincoat for camping trips, or maybe another pair of sunglasses, because he just can’t seem to remember where he left them…
Neat tools and gadgets:
Any geology-loving dad would appreciate some new tools and gadgets to help him delve into his passion even more.
I recently found this portable digital microscope that would occupy your nerdy dad and his rock/mineral collection for HOURS. If he doesn’t have one (or lost it), get him a new rock hammer or hand lens and consider getting it engraved for a personal touch!
Sentimental treasures:
Dads who’ve had a lot of great adventures deserve some mementos besides rocks. Download a geological map of a location that means a lot to you both and get it printed and framed. You could even track down a more official map on eBay or at an antique shop!
Get him a book or a field guide of his most-visited places, so you both can learn new things the next time you visit it together. The Geology Underfootand Roadside Geologyseries are great for this!
The Geology in YOUR Lifestyle
Photos provided by readers (Clockwise): Sarah P., Erin M., Loukas T., Brittany M.
Thanks to all the reader submissions I got last week, I have a pretty good idea of how you guys incorporate geology into your everyday lives. Here’s what I learned!
Photography:
Brittany says she sees the world vastly differently since she’s started studying geology for her degree. Her landscape film photography has risen to a whole new level!
As a retired core logger, Harry’s seen thousands of rock samples. Nowadays, he enjoys making prints of thin sections in his personal collection and has even used them to make greeting cards for his loved ones.
Diamond hunting:
Sara, an Arkansas state geologic field mapper, has taken up diamond hunting at Crater of Diamonds State Park. She loves that she can learn about the geological context of her finds while having a great time hunting for gems with her fiancé.
Investigating commercial stone:
While walking around his city, Loukas likes to stop and look at the building stones. It puts a unique natural spin on concrete jungles!
Andrew’s 2-year-old daughter is obsessed with the stone counter samples at hardware stores. He uses this interest to teach her about petrology—y’know, as much as a toddler can comprehend. That’s one dedicated dad!
Reading ahead:
Before heading out on vacation, Poppy prefers to read up on the geology of the area so she can marvel at it with context. On her recent trip to Morocco, she was fully prepared for the anticlines, Jurassic limestone, and redbed regions.
Teaching friends:
Josh is pretty knowledgeable about Carrock Fell, in the Lake District, U.K., having done his undergraduate dissertation there. Though it was years ago, he still remembers details about all the outcrops, so he enjoys taking his friends on private geology tours there!
Thank you all for reading this week’s edition of GeoLifestyle, and a special thanks to all who entered the Brunton giveaway! A winner has been selected at random from more than 1,000 entrants and contacted by AAPG. Check your email! You may be in for a surprise.
A third thank you goes to everyone who fulfilled my birthday wish and submitted their stories and photos. It’s wonderful to see so many people creatively incorporating their passion into their lives outside of work, and I hope their stories help inspire others!
Cate Larsen
Editor, GeoLifestyle
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