SciShow Rocks Box

What's in the box: One hand-picked rock, mineral, gem or fossil plus an information card explaining the specimen.

SciShow Rocks Box is a monthly subscription from Complexly, the company behind SciShow and Crash Course. Each month you get one hand-picked rock, mineral, gem or fossil chosen by the SciShow Rocks staff geologist. It comes with an information card about the specimen. What sets it apart is the video tie-in. Every delivery gets its own episode on the SciShow Rocks YouTube channel, which covers what the specimen is, its history, its properties and where it came from. That makes it more of a learning experience than a plain specimen drop, and it suits households that already watch SciShow. Buying it also supports the channel. The subscription costs $35 per month and ships only to US and Canada addresses. Delivery follows the show's schedule: your first box ships within about two to three weeks after the matching episode airs. If you sign up on or after the 25th, you won't be charged again until the month after next. The big catch right now is availability. The subscription is sold out, and the site offers a notify option instead of checkout, so you may have to wait for an opening. You also get only one specimen a month, so collectors who want volume may find the price steep. The site does not say how big the specimens are.