Author: Show-Me Rockhounds Kansas City

We are the oldest rock collecting club in Kansas City, MO

Carborundum

iridescent purple and green silicon carbide

In Mark Sherwood’s case at the Spring 2017 show. Photo by Stephanie Reed

At Mark Sherwood’s talk “Earth Science… Facts, Frauds and Scams” he mentioned carborundum (also spelled carborundrum). It is made of silicon carbide, but it is not a natural mineral that you can find in the ground. If you want to find some carborundum, look in a chimney. At an iron foundry, the carbon and silicon in the smoke rise and precipitate on the inside of the chimney. When the chimney is cleaned, they find these nice silicon carbide deposits. They are iridescent and pretty enough to buy, but don’t be fooled. Some sellers will say that carborundrum or moissanite and pretend like it is from some secret mine or even a meteorite, but it is really a man-made mineral.

Note: Moissanite is a naturally occurring silicon carbide, but it is very rare and it doesn’t look like the specimen pictured above. It actually looks like tiny green glass crystals. They are usually heat treated to increase clarity. If so, the seller needs to disclose that the specimen has been heated or they are being fraudulent. Buyer beware.

Spring 2017 Gem Show Photos

The Spring 2017 Gem and Mineral Show was very successful. The parking lot was filled to capacity and we made over $3000 for the scholarship fund. I think it helped that it was so cold on Saturday, because people wanted to do something indoors. Here are some of the highlights.

My favorite exhibit: The Earth’s Rainbow by Maple Woods Community College. It shows minerals of every color and how they get their colors. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Geological features of Missouri made out of minerals by Susan Judy (Stone Quilt Design) Unfortunately, it was already sold when I saw it. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Mr. Bones was wondering what was so interesting on this person’s phone. Photo by Stephanie Reed

David and Stephanie Reed showing off the new Association banner. Photo by Bob

Cretaceous fossils from Kansas, displayed by KU. The iridescent baculite is especially nice. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Selenite crystal from Kansas. I sold it at the Association Booth. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Shea Oak slab in UMKC’s petrified wood exhibit. This specimen usually lives at the Sutton Museum at UMKC. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A blue morpho butterfly seen at Butterflies by God. Photo by Stephanie Reed

The Bead Society had a lot of great cases. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Keshi pearls (i.e. non-nucleated pearls) from Avian Oasis. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Jeanna and Jim in foreground, Chet and Bob in background. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Agatized Dinosaur bone from the Morrison Formation in Utah, seen at Science Leads the Way. We met the person who found it. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Australian Boulder Opal cabs from Dreaming Down Under. Photo by Stephanie Reed

This otherworldly glass sculpture was at Madagascar Gemstones. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Time To Spring Forward

Agate slab clock, seen at the Fall Gem and Mineral Show 2016. Photo by Stephanie Reed

We hope you are having fun at the show. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward 1 hour for Daylight Savings Time.

Spring 2017 Lectures

Lectures presented by the Association of Earth Science Clubs of Greater Kansas City

Friday, March 10, 2017

3:00 p.m. “Opal Down Under”, Ron Wooly, Owner of Dreaming Down Under

Saturday, March 11, 2017

1:00 p.m. “Earth Science… Facts, Frauds and Scams”, Mark Sherwood, Independence Gem and Mineral Society

2:00 p.m. “The Life and Hard Times of the KU T. rex”, Dr. David Burnham, Research Associate, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

3:00 p.m. “Medullary bone in Tyrannosaurs: a question of chickens, eggs and possibly more”, Dr. Josh Schmerge, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

4:00 p.m. “History of Gold Mining”, Doug Foster, Show-Me Gold, Missouri

Sunday, March 12, 2017

2:00 p.m. “The Life and Hard Times of the KU T-rex”, Dr. David Burnham, Research Associate, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

3:00 p.m. “Islands in the sun: Eocene fossil mammals from Turkey”, Dr. Chris Beard, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas

Scholarship

The Association has a scholarship for students studying earth science. The value will be between $250 – $1000. To apply, fill out this form on the Association website here and mail it to Molly Stinemetz. The application says 2015 but it is good for 2017. The scholarship happens every year.

Deadline: February 28, 2017

Requirements:

Be a student at an accredited college or university in Missouri or Kansas
Must have completed your sophomore year, or be a grad student
Major in a field related to earth science
Be a legal resident of the United States
Complete the application honestly and on time
Include a recommendation from a professor
Include a transcript
If you are selected as a finalist, you must attend the auction at the Kansas City Gem Show on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 7:15pm.

Door Prizes

When you come to the show, don’t forget to enter the drawings for door prizes.

Kids’ Drawing:

Dinosaur Model with Real Tooth

Cactus Quartz

(more…)

Special Exhibits 2017

KANSAS CITY GEM SHOW SPRING 2017 FEATURE EXHIBIT

ROCK ART –Stone Quilt Design; Susan Judy; Denver, CO and WKP Accent Tables; Bill Peterson; Boulder, CO
Colorado artists Judy and Bill have brought some of their creations to the Kansas City Show. Judy inlays natural materials in a stone mosaic to create pictures and Bill uses natural materials to create tables.

INVITATIONAL EXHIBITS (more…)

56th Annual Gem and Mineral Show

Mark your calendar for the Spring 2017 Gem and Mineral Show, sponsored by the Association. Here is a flyer in PDF format you can print or send to all your friends, and a coupon for $1 off admission.

spring 2017 kansas city gem and mineral show tourmaline postcard with map to kansas city gem show and coupon

Collagen Found in Dinosaur Bones

Robert Reisz, https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i6/Collagen-found-195-million-year.html

Paleontologists at the University of Toronto just found collagen in a 195 million year old fossil. This makes it the oldest protein that has ever been found. Previously, the oldest protein sample was only 80 million years old (it was also collagen, from a dinosaur bone). They also found hematite crystals in the fossil, which possibly came from the blood. The dinosaur was a Lufengosaurus that lived in Yunnan Province, China.

Some other paleontologists didn’t like the new, non-invasive methods that the team used used to identify the collagen, but other scientists thought the methods were fine. Read the whole article here https://cen.acs.org/articles/95/i6/Collagen-found-195-million-year.html and let me know what you think.

Rooster Rock

Rooster Rock, Crown Point, and the Vista House (top right, on top of Crown Point). Photo by Lyn Topinka, http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/rooster_rock.html

Photo by Thomas Kuo, from Google Maps. This is Crown Point and the Vista House seen close up from the other side.

Celebrate the new Year of the Rooster by going to Rooster Rock State Park in Portland, Oregon. Rooster Rock is a large basalt feature located on the Oregon side of the Columbia River at River Mile (RM) 129, just below the base of Crown Point. It is also called Woutoulat or Crow’s Roost, sometimes. There is a Vista House on top of the Crown Point, which is a lava flow. The state park has many amenities including: a boat ramp into the Columbia River, fishing, swimming, windsurfing, hiking, ADA accessible picnic shelters, parking lots, restrooms, two disc golf courses, and a clothing-optional beach. Also, Lewis and Clark camped there on November 2, 1805.

Sources: http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/rooster_rock.html http://oregonstateparks.org/index.cfm?do=parkPage.dsp_parkPage&parkId=126