RAYMOND - Thousands of young people are expected to attend a rock festival Oct. 3.

Not the kind with guitars, drums and amplifiers. Just a lot of fossils. And it will be a real smash. Actually, a real crush.

Basic Materials Corp. and a number of other organizations are participating in Earth Science Week by holding an open house at the company's quarry on Dubuque Road east of Raymond. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Attendance has grown each year for the annual event, and a record crowd is anticipated this year.

"We're estimating somewhere around 3,500," said Holly Collison, Basic Materials project manager.

Kids from kindergarten through middle school are invited, along with the general public, school groups and Scout troops. The event is being held about a week earlier to avoid conflicting with fall harvest activities.

Kids will have plenty to do, Collison said. They will be able to look for fossils and minerals among rock samples, and younger kids will be able to find tokens redeemable for candy. Black Hawk County Gem & Mineral Society members and University of Northern Iowa earth sciences staff and students will be on hand to help kids with their rock hunting.

"This is hands on, 100 percent," Basic Materials geologist Sherman Lundy said.

The public also will be able to take bus tours of the quarry area throughout the day, conducted by the UNI earth sciences department.

"It's less of the economics of the operation, more of the geology of the site - the type of rock the geological environments represented here," professor Jim Walters said.

But attendees will definitely get to see the business end of the operation. Basic Materials will conduct a demonstration with its massive rock crusher at 1:45 p.m. and will show off its wash plant at 2:15 p.m.

An old-fashioned early 1900s steam engine and rock crusher also will be running throughout the day. Other contractors also are expected to have equipment on display.

There was no quarry tour last year, as Earth Science Week organizers emphasized soil conservation.

"The big thing we heard was, 'We like going to the quarry,'" Lundy said.

Basic Materials also is conducting a soil and water conservation field day tour of nearby farm field The event is in cooperation with the Black Hawk County Soil and Water Conservation District and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Admission is free, though attendees are asked to bring canned or other nonperishable food items that will be donated to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank.

"The Northeast Iowa Food Bank is going to have a truck out here. We've got a goal of one ton of nonperishable items. They'll park that (truck) on the scale, so we'll be able to see how much they have," Collison said.

A grilled lunch will be provided. Donations will be accepted for Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa.

The food bank and Big Brothers-Big Sisters donations were added this year, because "we want to give something back to the community," Basic Materials manager Chris Dinsdale said.

Pat Kinney can be contacted at (319) 291-1484 or pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com