The wide-eyed wonder and spark of curiosity that lights up a child’s face the moment they realize they are holding a piece of space in their hands is at the heart of Maine Mineral & Gem Museum’s newest classroom project: the Space Rocks! Meteorite Education Kits.
This fall MMGM will officially launch these traveling kits — available free to Maine and New Hampshire schools — bringing real pieces of outer space, interactive lessons, and engaging STEM activities straight to students.
“There is NOTHING more delightful than handing a 10-year-old a meteorite,” says MMGM Education Outreach Coordinator Deb Johnson. “Kids are so excited to touch a piece of space.”
In May, MMGM piloted two meteorite kits in Oxford County middle schools and at Space Day Maine, reaching hundreds of students.
The Meteoritical Society, which funded the project via its community grant program, said it “is delighted to be able to support these worthwhile projects that further the society’s goals to promote research and education in planetary science.”
Teachers were thrilled to have access to 23 real specimens—nine of them genuine meteorites—along with microscopes, posters, and a full 5–10 day curriculum aligned with Next-Generation Science Standards. One teacher was so eager she requested the kit again for two weeks in the fall; another even created a brand-new activity inspired by it.
And the students? They left no doubt. A stack of handwritten thank-you notes piled up on Deb’s desk afterward, describing the lessons as “wonderful,” “fun,” and “interesting.” For many, the meteorite was the first piece of the cosmos they had ever touched.
Each kit contains:
- 23 specimens, including 9–10 real meteorites
- A 5–10 day curriculum aligned with Next-Generation Science Standards
- Books, posters, and reusable classroom resources
- Tools like digital microscopes and jeweler’s loupes
To celebrate the official launch of the Space Rocks! Meteorite Education Kits MMGM will host a special Teacher Night from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 21. Click here to register for the training.
Educators will get the chance to see the kits up close, try out activities, and learn how to borrow them at no cost for their own classrooms.
For more information on the kits or how to get one in your classroom, email Education Outreach Coordinator Deb Johnson at djohnson@mainemineralmuseum.org. Or register here via the link.
Stones & Stories: From Earth to Sky
Over the 2025–26 school year, MMGM plans to expand the program beyond western Maine, making the kits available to schools throughout Maine, New Hampshire, and beyond. And with teachers’ feedback built into the program, the kits will continue to evolve.
The Space Rocks! kits will add a new chapter in MMGM’s Stones & Stories series, an initiative funded in part by VisitMaine.com, which connects Maine’s rich geology with the stories of people, places, and — now — outer space. Just as Maine’s granite tells the story of quarries and communities, and tourmaline reveals a legacy of artistry and discovery, these meteorites carry tales from the solar system itself.
Each kit is designed not just to teach science, but to spark imagination. A meteorite can ignite a conversation about extinction events and craters, but it can also remind a student that the universe is vast, mysterious, and waiting to be explored. MMGM will work to capture the experiences of students and educators as they explore out-of-this-world science using these kits.
By weaving these cosmic stories into Maine classrooms, MMGM is expanding Stones & Stories beyond the museum walls—showing that the rocks we study, whether dug from Maine quarries or fallen from the stars, all have stories worth telling.
