Hi. I am new to the arduino and started collecting parts from my friends, dreaming up new ideas.
I have no idea what this is. it's green domed with three legs. the green piece can be removed to reveal a black dome piece underneath. On the back it has a 60 , a bold "S" with a 12 beside it, and a J9 on a dot in the middle. I've checked the various number combinations on google, but nothing.
Any help would be awesome.
also it won't let me post links to pics I took of it, until I post a message.
So... you've made the post, where are the pics?
And now some non-blurry photos? 
It's a blurry IR receiver module. 
Used to receive amplify and demodulate IR remote controls. If it's around 38KHz you can use it to receive commands from most TV remotes.
One pin will be Vcc (usually 5V), another will be Gnd, and one will be the signal out. Which is which depends on the model. I've seen several combinations.
Here is an example from Radiosh*t . . .
Or here, very close to yours:
http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampModules/tabid/134/ProductID/177/List/1/Default.aspx?SortField=ISBN,ISBN
sorry about the bad photos, all I have is my cell phone to take pics. thank you for the great info!