DEAR SANTA, PLEASE GIVE ME A LUMP OF COAL: LESSONS LEARNED RUNNING AN INTERNATIONAL SECRET SANTA ROCK EXCHANGE

Science communication on social media can lead to a lot of passive engagement with audiences, making the creator/audience relationship similar to a one-sided lecturer/student relationship. To increase active participation of a geology interested audience, an international Secret Santa rock exchange was organized for the 2023 winter holiday season. The main objectives of this rock exchange were to connect people with an interest in geology, have them share an aspect of the geology of their area, and to learn about the geology of another area. The sign-up process was done through Google Forms during which, participants would read guidelines for selecting rocks/sediment, agree to the rules of the rock exchange, and provide their information including contact information and their mailing address. Due to the personal nature of some of the data collected, access to that data was restricted to the coordinator and only the necessary personal information was passed along to the Secret Santas. 31 people signed up and confirmed their participation with 16 of those coming from the United States. The remaining participants came from Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan. 21 participants confirmed that they received their packages on time while 3 participants received their packages after Christmas. 3 participants did not receive a package, so they were mailed rocks by the coordinator, and their Secret Santas were placed on the naughty list. Other issues that arose were trouble contacting some people who did not provide their email address, and layout issues for mailing addresses leading to delays in deliveries. Feedback on the rock exchange was limited but overall positive with quotes such as, “This was so much fun. Looking forward to next year!”