Christmas Parties 2015

Photos from the Show-Me Rockhounds and IGAMS Christmas parties.

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The Show-Me Rockhounds Christmas Party. There was also a White Elephant gift exchange in which everyone chose gifts (sight unseen) that were perfectly suited for them.

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The Show-Me Rockhounds Christmas Party. Here’s another photo because I couldn’t decide which one was better.

SOEXCITED

Valerie is so excited about her gift!

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The presents at the IGAMS White Elephant exchange. There were things like necklaces, books, calendars, candy, and of course mineral specimens.

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The IGAMS December meeting. It was fairly short. There was also dinner.

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Preparing for the gift exchange at IGAMS.

 

Missouri’s State Mineral

On July 21, 1967, the mineral galena was adopted as the official mineral of Missouri. Galena is the major source of lead ore, and the recognition of this mineral by the state legislature was to emphasize Missouri’s status as the nation’s top producer of lead. Galena is dark gray in color and breaks into small cubes. Mining of galena has flourished in the Joplin-Granby area of southwest Missouri, and rich deposits have been located in such places as Crawford, Washington, Iron and Reynolds counties. (RSMo 10.047)

Source: http://sos.mo.gov/symbols/symbols.asp?symbol=mineral

The specimen pictured is from the Southeast Missouri Mining District in Reynolds County, MO.

New Officers

An important announcement from our November meeting: Our President, Martin Mueller, has accepted the position of Vice President of IGAMS and is stepping down as President of Show-Me Rockhounds. Thus, we had an election and unanimously voted in David Reed as our new President and FC Watts as our new Vice President. Best of luck to all three in their new positions.

Gem Show Photos Fall 2015

We had fun selling and buying specimens at the gem show. If you missed it, here are some of the things you can expect to find at a show.

Panorama of the KCI Expo Center Gem Show

An overview of the whole show. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Two women looking at books about rock collecting.

This year we sold books about rocks and where to find them, including the highly desired Gemstones of North America by John Sinkankas.

A man at a laptop with rocks for sale.

Mark selling minerals.

People posing with an aquamarine crystal

President Martin and Webmistress Stephanie looking at an aquamarine. Photo by David Reed

A clear glass jar full of small tumbled chips of Lake Superior agates.

This jar of tumbled chips of Lake Superior agates was part of a kit for making a gem tree, sold by the Show-Me Rockhounds. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Mineral spheres of assorted colors red green blue pink orange

Polished spheres made of minerals from Dave’s Rocks and Carvings (Hamburg, MI). I see rose quartz, tiger’s eye, sodalite, and snowflake obsidian. Can you name all the minerals?

Glass shelves full of interesting minerals and rocks for sale

Mineral specimens for sale from Dave’s Rocks and Carvings (Hamburg, MI) Photo by David Reed

Blue larimar rings jewelry

Gem shows always have lots of jewelry for sale, usually organized by mineral. This is an entire box full of rings made with blue larimar sold by Manichia LLC (Kansas City, MO). Blue larimar is a type of volcanic pectolite found in the Dominican Republic.

colorful lampwork glass beads

Glass beads for sale at Park Design (St. Joseph, MO). You can even watch the beads being made. They can also be found at the Three Trails Trading Post in Independence, MO.

Fall Kansas City Gem Show Coming Soon

Flyer describing the time and place of the 2015 fall gem show at the Kansas City Expo Center

It’s almost that time again. The weather is getting cooler, the leaves are falling off the trees, and the fall gem show is next week. It will be at the Kansas City Expo Center November 6-8. The fall show is not as big as the spring show (in March) but is still well worth attending, as it’s only $6. IGAMS will be there and if you signed up to help, hopefully you know who you are because I don’t. Also, feel free to print out this flyer and share it with your friends, co-workers, and anyone else who might be interested.

Hematite
A rock that looks like a cluster of small gray bits of shiny steel with spots of red rust.

Photo by Stephanie Reed

Hematite (Fe2O3) is a type of iron ore, which means that it contains iron which can be smelted out and used. It has a distinctive red color which means it can be used as red pigment, and is why hematite is sometimes called bloodstone. This is the main way you can identify hematite: it looks silver, but it produces a red streak. It was used in cave paintings when they wanted a red color. Hematite also can be polished and made into cabochons, but mostly, it is mined for its iron content and used for industrial purposes, such as for making steel or for X-ray shielding. Hematite is found all over the world, but primarily in Minas Gerais (Brazil), Cumbria (England), Morocco, Lake Superior, Utah (Thomas Range), and Arizona. This hematite specimen is from the UMKC Sutton Museum.

By the way, magnetic hematite jewelry is NOT made of hematite. The jewelry is a manmade ceramic barium-strontium ferrite magnet. See here: http://www.mindat.org/min-35948.html Hematite by itself is not magnetic, but some people think it is because it is frequently found with magnetite, which is magnetic.

Earth Science Week 2015

Earth Science Week is October 11-17, 2015

Earth Science Week logoEvery year, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MO DNR) has an Earth Science Week full of fun activities for kids and adults. From their website: Earth Science Week aims to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth Sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth. This year’s activities will be held Oct. 11-17 and will celebrate the theme “Visualizing Earth’s Systems.” This year’s theme will engage young people and others in discovering the Earth sciences, remind people that Earth science is all around us, encourage Earth stewardship through understanding, and to motivate geoscientists to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about the Earth.

Go ahead – be a citizen scientist!

Enter the photography, visual arts and essay contests! All eligible submissions must be submitted to the American Geosciences Institute and received electronically by 4 p.m. CST, Friday, Oct. 16, 2015.

Participate in events during Earth Science Week. Plan a visit to the Missouri Geological Survey during Earth Science Week. The Missouri Geological Survey will be open during Earth Science Week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday, Oct. 12-16.

Read our Governor’s Proclamation!

  • Sunday, Oct. 11 is International EarthCache Day – Explore the world using your GPS.
  • Monday, Oct. 12 Earth Science Literacy Day – Learn the fundamentals of geosciences with Earth Science: Big Idea, a video series developed to explain why Earth science literacy is important.
  • Tuesday, October 13 is No Child Left Inside Day – NCLI Day encourages students to go outside and research Earth science in the field like a professional geoscientist.
  • Wednesday, Oct. 14 is National Fossil Day – Visitors to the Ed Clark Museum of Missouri Geology, in Rolla, will receive a Crinoid fossil. Also, be sure to check out the fossils in the limestone of the Missouri State Capitol.
  • Thursday, Oct. 15 is The Great Central U.S. ShakeOut – Register and join millions in the “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” earthquake drill Oct. 15 at 10:15 a.m.
  • Thursday, Oct. 15 is Geoscience for Everyone Day – Do your part to help young people from underrepresented communities explore exciting careers in the geosciences.
  • Friday, Oct. 16 is Geologic Map Day – Special mapping exhibits were on display at the Ed Clark Museum of Missouri Geology during Geologic Map Day to promote awareness of the study, uses and importance of geologic mapping for education, science, business, and public policy concerns.
  • Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17 and 18 the Ozark Mountain Gem and Mineral Society’s Gem and Jewelry Show will be held in the at the Expo Center in Springfield, Mo. – Geologists with the Missouri Geological Survey will host an educational booth Saturday, Oct. 17.
  • Saturday, Oct. 17 is International Archaeology Day – Hosted by the Archaeological Institute of America, this special event is a celebration of archaeology and the thrill of discovery.

Even Bigger Petrified Wood
A cylindrical red and orange piece of petrified wood that almost reaches the waist of the person standing next to it.

Photo by David Reed

Everyone had a great time visiting the Sutton Museum on our last field trip. Valerie just reminded me that I should be posting some photos from the museum so I will over the next week or two. When you come in the door of the museum, the first thing you will notice is this giant piece of petrified wood. A person is standing next to it for scale, so you can see it is about 2 feet tall. Much bigger than the other big petrified wood I wrote about last year.