Boulders in this display represent a wide variety of rock types, all of which contain information that can help a geologist understand how the rock was formed, the possible age of the rock, and the geologic and environmental conditions at the time of the rock's formation. Each boulder gives a piece of the overall geologic history of a region, similar to clues at a crime scene.

Rock types in this display belong in one of the three families of rock based on the mode of formation: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Different information is stored within each family for the geologist to decipher and learn more about geologic processes. Although a single rock cannot give the whole picture of the geologic past (Geologists need to examine a large area and many samples to piece together a story.), each specimen can portray a different facet of the story (e.g. a piece of the puzzle). They may even indicate the type of tectonic activity that was present when the rock formed.

Presented here are a few examples of what types of information a geologist may gather from a rock.