CREATING THE ROCK CYCLE WITH LARGE BOULDERS AT SANTA FE COLLEGE, GAINESVILLE FLORIDA

This is a one of a kind permanent outdoor geologic exhibit on the main campus of Santa Fe College, formally Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville, Florida. This exhibit features over twenty boulders, many weighing thousands of kilograms. These boulders were collected from locations across North America including Alaska. Construction of the exhibit, named the “Jean Klein Rock Cycle Garden” began in 2003 and opened in June of 2006.

The boulders are displayed in an orderly sequence beginning with igneous, followed by sedimentary and continuing with metamorphic, finally bringing the viewer back to the starting point. An informational panel at the beginning of the exhibit explains the Rock Cycle and why the rocks are placed in the order in which they occur. Placed beside each boulder is a sign explaining how that rock type formed, location where rock was collected and donor of boulder. A web site has also been created that allows one to take a virtual tour and of course a quiz at the end.

The rock cycle garden has become very popular in our city and surrounding area and attracts thousands of visitors a year. These visitors include students attending our main campus, especially our geology and physical science students, secondary school students on field trips, geology students from the University of Florida and the general public. The exhibit is also a work in progress. As we locate important rock types, a new display can be added within the garden. The focus of this oral presentation is how you can create a similar exhibit on your campus with little capital outlay.