In recent decades, numerous virtual field trips have been created to simulate in-person field excursions however, one aspect of physical fieldwork is not commonly replicated: virtual explorers do not often return to their computer desktops with collections of virtual rocks! There are multiple justifications for creating interactive 3D digital models of rocks, minerals, fossils, drill core, geo-archaeological objects, and outcrops. If you have questions, please contact GSA Today, P.O. Manuscript received 29 June 2015 accepted 7 March 2016ฤก GSA Supplemental Data Repository Item 2016173, detailing techniques for creating virtual specimens along with figure animations, is online. Detailed instructions are provided in the GSA Supplemental Data Repository 1. This paper surveys applications in a wide range of geoscience subdisciplines and includes downloadable examples. Virtual rocks can be gradually altered to illustrate geological processes such as weathering, deformation, and metamorphic mineral growth. There are opportunities for enhanced online courses, remote supervision of fieldwork, remote research collaboration, and citizen-science projects, and there are implications for archiving, peer-review, and inclusive access to specimens from inaccessible sites. Emerging technologies allow the design of realistic virtual rocks with free or inexpensive software, relatively inexpensive 3D scanners and printers, and smartphone cameras linked to point-cloud computing services. Three-dimensional digital models of geological objects are relatively easy to create and geolocate on virtual globes such as Google Earth and Cesium.
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