Can you identify rocks? Why would you want a rock identification app?
Geology is a fascinating subject which lets kids think about processes that began millions of years ago to form the world around them. Rock identification and hunting are great outdoor activities to share with your kids as you go on long walks together.
They might find rocks that formed on the bottom of ancient seabeds, spewed from volcanoes or assembled from a complex mix of different minerals. With a rock identification app, they can know the names of the rocks and how they came to be. It doesn't matter where you live - the rocks around you tell stories of how the world developed.
Remember to emphasise to kids the importance of safety and not to enter anywhere that might be unsafe, where they might become lost or could place them at risk of falling debris. Accompany them as they grow their geological awareness.
Rock identification satisfies curiosity and the collector's instinct in kids. Go out with your kids, find rocks, identify them, learn about them, and build a collection. Use our best rock identification apps list to help your kids learn.
Best Rock Identification Apps
1. Stone Identifier Rock Scanner Rock Identifier
If you are looking for a free app that enables you to identify rocks and stones simply by photographing them with your mobile phone, you should definitely try Rock identifier. It’s that simple! You take a photo with your phone or you upload an existing image from your gallery and you quickly find out the name of that particular rock or gem or crystal or stone. This app allows you to identify real gemstones, rocks and minerals with pictures.
You can then choose from the list of results the rock that resembles the most with the one in your photo. Whether you are a geologist, mineral explorer, hobbyist, student, teacher, or just want to learn more about rocks, the rock recognizer provides guidance and instruction on the easiest and most comprehensive stone.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
2. Rock Identifier: Stone ID
Rock Identifier app allows you to take a photo of any crystals or gemstones and get an instant accurate identification. This crystal identifier app helps you to identify and learn about any crystal, rock or gemstone you find.
This app can take you to an exceptional world of 6000 rocks and crystals. You can also get a large encyclopedia of rocks where the chemical properties of the selected rocks, the main locations or color variations, and the reason for that happening can be found. This app can help you in the identification of gemstones also.
You can also save all your favorite geological observations in the app's rock collection area. You can have a consultation with experts about the identification prospect and this is one-to-one identification.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Devices: iPhone, iPad, Android
3. Geology Toolkit
Geology Toolkit is a popular rock identification app which allows geologists to examine and explore minerals and rocks features under microscope or hand-specimen properties.
Geology Toolkit makes mineralogy and petrology to be easier to examine a thin section and to understand the characteristic properties for each mineral/rock without a petrographic microscope, which is known to be very expensive. It is mainly addressed to geoscience students / geologists as a guide in individual or supervised laboratory work.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Devices: Android
4. Minerals guide: Rocks, Crystals & Gemstones
Minerals guide is a comprehensive application that allows geologists and hobbyists to examine and explore minerals, rocks, gemstones and crystals features. Minerals Guide can recognize more than 4,000 different stones with its characteristics. These include: color, streak, hardness, luster, diaphaneity, specific gravity, cleavage, fracture, magnetism, solubility, and many more.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Devices: Android
5. Geology Rocks – Handbook of Rocks
Geology Rocks app empowers you to easily explore and research rocks and minerals from various parts of the world.
The foremost intention of Geology Rocks is to provide geologists or hobbyists or even kids a community where they can share their findings (observations) and a way to provide quality information working to better understand and preserve the nature.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Devices: Android
6. RockCheck
RockCheck app is a digital educational tool that contributes to the improvement and quality of teaching and learning of rocks and geological contents within natural science subjects in the formal school system. The content is based on the standard classifications of rocks and adapted to the needs of pupils, students, teachers, and the general public.
RockCheck is more interesting for use than textbooks and can be used innovatively with active learning techniques.
Price: Free with in-app purchases
Devices: Android
7. Rockd
This app is developed by the Macrostat lab under the Department of Geoscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In case of further assistance, there is help from the National Science Foundation. These names make the app much more reliable on the information base. This app can get you a large list of geologic maps from the globe and in case of information gathering, the app is quite dynamic.
There is an inbuilt compass function in the app and that can give you exact data about the local geological elements. You can add your field observation on this app both online and offline.
Price: Free
Devices: iOS
8. Google Lens
Google Lens app can mediate between the search results and the preferred search. Google Lens can preferably scan every image, you can upload from your device or can directly click on any rock from your device camera, and the app searches automatically.
This app is completely free and easy to access from many regions but there are exceptions also. You can also get regional updates from this app using the location of the app.
Price: Free
Devices: iOS, Android
9. Gemius: Rock Identifier-Stone
This app can provide you with knowledge about the chemical properties and physical properties of the rocks. You can find a large library on the app based on such information.
You can also create your own list of rock collections on the app by thoroughly identifying those. This app also gives information on the connection between the healing touch and the gemstones. The app has termed this as the role of stones being the energy sources for Chakras.
Price: Free
Devices: Android
10. Minerals guide: Geology
This app has been regarded as the encyclopedia of mineralogy and contains a large collection of terminologies of rocks and minerals. The search option on this app is accompanied by AI. Therefore, it detects the terms automatically, you don't need to type the words fully. You can also use the voice search option to add more specifications to the search option.
Price: Free
Devices: Android
These rock identification apps are perfect for those who study geological sciences and related fields like petrology, geochemistry, crystallography, and paleontology. It can be used by hobbyists or even kids as introduction to mineralogy.
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