Many dealers who will appear at the Feb. 14-17 Tucson Convention Center show will sell pricey gem and minerals to adults - but also make room for low-cost bags o' rocks for the kiddies.

Same goes for some other dealers who set up shop at the dozens of satellite gem, mineral and fossil shows at hotels and other sites around Tucson during early and mid-February.

Most charge about a dollar for the goodie bags.

Kids seem to have as much fun selecting just the right grab bag as they do seeing what's inside, said "Bear" Pitts, who coordinates the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society's annual show-visit program for schoolchildren.

"For a dollar, they go around - eenie, meenie, miny, mo - then they open up their bags and they have seven or so stones," he said.

Some may contain a variety of colorful and pretty pebbles, such as a small, pointy quartz sample, a metallic pyrite rock, or even a smoky Apache tear. But what really counts is the excitement it generates.

The grab bags are always a hit with schoolchildren during the two-hour show tours, Pitts said.

For more information on registering for a school tour - which is open to kids of all ages, including those who are home-schooled, check out the society's Web site at www.tgms.org. Follow the link to "school visits."

Schools may also register by contacting Pitts at 670-5511, or e-mailing him at bear@pittswebb.com.

The grab bags are a low-cost, fun way to introduce the younger set to the longstanding hobby of mineral collecting.

"It's exciting, and that's what we want to see in these kids," he said. "Then they'll come back.

"These are the mineral collectors of the future."

* Contact reporter Bryn Bailer at 573-4119 or via e-mail at bbailer@azstarnet.com