Pebble Pups Meeting

2026

The next meeting is Thursday, January 22nd, 6:30p. at the HGMS Education Center, 7901 Bailey Cove Road SE, Huntsville, AL.

2025 Wrap Up

We wrapped up 2025 with a Pebble Pups holiday party.  It was a great turnout!  We had a potluck dinner with lots of tasty treats, we awarded lots of certificates the kids have been earning the last several months, the kids made rock art ornaments, we played games, and everyone had fun spending time together.  We finished our year out by exchanging rocks!  Each Pup brought a gift-wrapped rock to share with their Pebble Pup friends, and we made a game of it so that no one knew what they were going to end up with but loved what they got at the end.  It was a fantastic finish to a great year of learning together!

For 2026, the Pebble Pups will be taking it back to the foundation of geology – and the best place to start is learning about the three main types of rocks and the rock cycle!  We are going to be learning how each type of rock is formed including the conditions that must exist, the minerals that must be present, and the processes that take place in the formation of each rock type.  Then we will talk about how each type of rock can become another type of rock through the processes in the rock cycle. Rocks are everywhere and they make up the landscape around us.  Understanding the rocks we are looking at help us unlock the history of where that rock was found.

We will still be following the format we adopted last year.  We will break into two groups to learn about the same topic.  The older Pebble Pups will get deeper into the topic and the younger Pebble Pups will focus on the foundation of the topic.

Pebble Pups GroupMe

We now have a GroupMe chat for Pebble Pups families.  It is a place to share resources and information.  We will be sharing rockhounding outings so anyone who wants to join us can come along.  Hopefully it will be a great resource for everyone.  The more participation we have in the chat, the better it will be!  

Colder weather makes it hard to get outside to rockhound and hunt for fossils, but there is still plenty you can do inside!  You can go to the Cook Science Museum in Decatur, AL.  If you are willing to drive a little farther, there is also the University of Alabama Natural History Museum in Tuscaloosa, AL or the McWane Science Center in Birmingham, AL.  If you are really for an adventure, head to the Tellus Science Museum in Cartersville, GA.  It is a little more of a drive, but definitely worth the effort!  Do you have a suggestion for a field trip or have you found a spot you enjoy looking for rocks you would like to share with other Pebble Pups?  We are looking to build a list of places to go or things you can find in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.  Any suggestions are welcome.

 

The American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) sponsors the Future Rockhounds of America (FRA) program for kids under the age of 18.  The HGMS Pebble Pups participate in the FRA Badge Program.  You can check out all the badges that our Pups can earn by visiting the AFMS website at AFMS Juniors – The Badges. 

 

Pups who complete activities outside of club activities can send an email to HGMSPebblePups@gmail.com to receive credit for their activities.  If your Pup would like to share what they have learned, seen, or found with the rest of the group, please let Suzanne Miller know and we can give them time at the beginning of the meeting to talk to the group!  Sharing will help Pups earn their presentation and communications badges.  Is there a topic your Pup would like to learn more about?  Do you have an idea for an activity that our group would enjoy?  Have you found a great place to hunt for rocks, fossils, or gems?  Please email Suzanne Miller at HGMSPebblePups@gmail.com to share your ideas! 

Suzanne Miller and your Pups crew Angela, Kendall, Theresa, Matthew, Dee Dee, Bill, and Jeff