Two of the most challenging spatial concepts for geology students to master are resolving cross-cutting relationships and visualizing the three-dimensional interactions among planar geologic surfaces (bedding, faults, tabular intrusions) and curviplanar topographic surfaces (valleys & ridges).

Unfortunately, there are surprisingly few effective instructional tools available to help students master these concepts. Indeed, when searching the internet in 2018 for resources that my Structural Geology students could use, I discovered that the last high-quality geologic models built expressly for this purpose were made by Thomas Sopwith (1803-1879) in the mid 1800’s.

To address this need, I started making modern versions of Sopwith’s simple wooden geologic models for the geoscience community. When not being used in a classroom, these conversation-starting blocks look beautiful on desks or bookshelves and make wonderful gifts for lovers of science, geology, and the Earth.

Please visit the shop: BurmeisterLab on Etsy