Club Activities

Fun things the club members do together

November Field Trips

Our November meeting will be Saturday, November 19. On that day, you can choose from two great field trip opportunities!

Choice #1: Meet at the Firefighter’s Memorial (87th & Blue River) at 10:00 am to collect fossils, then come to the regular meeting at noon at the Kansas City Public Library.

Choice #2: Meet at the Praying Hands Memorial (Hwy 171 and Dawson Dr) in Webb City, MO at 12:30 pm. It’s about 2 hours from downtown Kansas City, so don’t be late! From there, we will drive together to see Marve’s collection of vintage mining equipment. This is a large collection that cannot be seen anywhere else. RSVP to Bruce Stinemetz.

Joplin Field Trip 2016

people looking at rocks collecting rocks joplin

Mardell, Kerry, and Roy. Photo by Molly Stinemetz.

Janice and Mike looking for rocks. Photo by Molly Stinemetz.

people giving charitable donation shaking hands

Bruce Stinemetz presenting a donation from the Friends of Mineralogy to Brad Belk, Director of the Joplin Museum Complex. Photo by Molly Stinemetz.

Some rockhounds went on a field trip to Joplin, MO in September 2016. They looked for rocks and went to the Joplin Museum Complex, where they gave the museum a donation from the Friends of Mineralogy, which is a national non-profit group of people who love studying minerals. Many of our rockhounds are members of multiple clubs, including this one. The Friends of Mineralogy make donations such as this one because they are a 501(c)(3) organization and because the Joplin museum is really cool and deserves it.

Congratulations Scholarship Winners

Every year, the Midwest Federation offers scholarships to students studying geology or earth science related fields at the college or post-graduate level. If you purchased anything at the Scholarship Auction at the March Gem & Mineral Show in Kansas City, or at the auction at the Association Picnic in August, then you contributed to these scholarships. Thank you!

Dr. William S. Cordua is a retired professor from the University of Wisconsin. Dr. Cordua is the chair of the Geology committee of the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies. Dr. Cordua has chosen the two students:

Ms. Kari Wolfe is pursuing her Masters degree in Nitrate Pollution in Tile Water in Dead Zones in the Gulf of Mexico, through the University of Wisconsin in Minneapolis.

Ms. Colleen Hoffman is pursuing her Ph.D. degree in Mineralogy and Biogeochemistry of Deep Sea Hydrothermal Vents, through the University of Wisconsin in Minneapolis.

For more information about the scholarships, including how to apply: http://www.amfed.org/mwf/federation/scholarships.html

Association Picnic 2016

picnic
The Association Picnic will be held Sunday, August 28th at Antioch Park, Shelter 3. Swap begins at 9am, picnic around 12:30-1:00pm, auction after lunch. Meats, drinks, plates, etc. will be provided by the Association. Please bring a potluck side dish (e.g. beans, chips, veggies, potato salad, etc.), and dessert. Also bring cash to spend at the auction, which benefits the scholarship fund. Everyone is welcome.

Delightful Daylilies

Photo by Stephanie Reed

The Snows had a delightful daylily party at their place this weekend! First there was food, then we viewed their amazing rock collection in their impeccably organized basement (complete with a fluorescent rock display that rivals several museums), then we saw their daylily garden and had a walk through the woods! There was even a real turtle in the yard! Ed brought some teeth for Martin to identify and there are some photos of the teeth. I didn’t know there were so many different shapes and colors of daylily so there are tons more photos on the Google+ here.

Since this is ostensibly a website about rocks and fossils, here’s a picture of two of the teeth. I don’t remember what Martin said they were.

two fossilized teeth in the palm of a person's hand

Photo by David Reed

Dino Soiree at Powell Gardens

dinosaur in beautiful flower garden with people looking

Photo from: http://www.examiner.com/article/jurassic-garden-may1-through-august-14-at-powell-gardens

When: 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, June 17 (21 and older)

Enjoy drinks and light bites while you view a fascinating collection of fossils and hear from renowned University of Kansas Paleontologist Dr. David Burnham about the unique and ferocious Dakotaraptor. Prepaid reservations of $30/person or $25/member required. You can make those reservations at https://www.powellgardens.org/dino-soiree or by calling 816-697-2600 x209.

Guests will get one drink ticket, which can be exchanged for wine, beer or a non-alcoholic beverage at the bar. Additional drinks will be available for purchase.

Come early if you would like to take a self-guided tour of Jurassic Garden: A Prehistoric Adventure! If you cannot make the paleontology lecture, there are some other events at the Jurassic Garden: Dining with the Dinos on June 24 (reservations for BBQ dinner with dinos) and Dino Night July 22 (reservations for Dino Night). The Jurassic Garden will be available until August 14, 2016.

Marquette Field Trip

Here are photos from the Show-Me Rockhounds’ field trip to Marquette, KS on April 16, 2016. This post was written by David Reed, current president of the club.

Coronado Heights. Photo by David Reed

Coronado Heights seen from afar. Photo by David Reed

People having a picnic at Coronado Heights. Photo by David Reed

Wall with battlements. Photo by David Reed

Telephone pole in downtown Marquette imitating decorated telephone poles in Lucas, KS and elsewhere. Photo by David Reed

Meeting at the diner. Photo by David Reed

Meeting for lunch. Photo by David Reed

Ready for lunch. Photo by David Reed

Terminator in somebody’s yard. Photo by David Reed

The bottom of a ring snake. The top is plain brown. The snake was found dead. Photo by David Reed

We found a live 2 inch long scorpion outside. Photo by David Reed

A highly unusual fossil in iron. Photo by David Reed

There were helicopters outside. Stephanie has helpfully combined two photos to add the zoomed-in part. It was very fast. Photos by David Reed

Connie being photogenic with her car. Photo by David Reed

Look at all the people who came on the trip. We had a great time. Photo by David Reed

Association Scholarship Auction

The Association always has an auction at the Gem Show which raises money for scholarships for college students studying earth science-related fields. Find out more about the scholarship and apply here: http://kcgemshow.org/2015_Scholatship%20App.html

Everyone is welcome at the auction, but it is especially popular with club members because there are snacks. It took place at 7 pm on Saturday, March 12. Here are some of the things you missed.

A landscape agate with coyotes and a moon added in copper

A sculpture by the late David Wright, award-winning silversmith and jeweler. Made with Pitcher jasper. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Crinoid fossil, about the size of a brick

A Pelagic crinoid from Morocco. Photo by David Reed

Estwing rock hammer next to polished opal

An Estwing rock hammer and a polished opal (sold separately, but they were close together on the table). Photo by David Reed

Vintage maps of Colorado from 1918. Photo by David Reed

Bonus: here are some more photos of club members at the show.

Club members Bob, Bruce, Martin, Molly, and Stephanie at the Association Booth. There were many more members present but this was as close as we could get to a group photo. Photo by David Reed

Bob, Bruce, and Martin at the booth looking at what there is for sale. Photo by David Reed

Molly and Bruce, members of IGAMS. Photo by David Reed

Spring 2016 Show Photos

I took way too many photos at the show and most of them were interesting, making it difficult to write this post. Without further ado, here are the highlights from the Spring 2016 Gem and Mineral Show.

The Association Booth was staffed by club members from Show-Me Rockhounds, IGAMS, and more. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A smiling young woman sitting behind a large wooden spinner with eight sections. She is wearing an ammonite necklace and a shirt proclaiming that the Kansas City Gem and Mineral Show "finally struck gold" and is 50 years old.

The popular prize wheel returned again. It’s only 50 cents to spin and receive one of 8 different prizes. Everyone’s a winner! Photo by David Reed

The Geode Gallery (Davenport, IA) cracked a lot of geodes. You can have a geode opened whether you buy it from them or bring your own. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Look behind you, it’s a dinosaur attack! No, it’s Mr. Bones! From Louisville, CO, Mr. Bones has returned for more dinosaur fun. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Scientist mounting specimen museum science city dino lab

A representative from the Dino Lab in Science City at Union Station. She is cleaning a specimen to be mounted. Photo by Stephanie Reed

Mark Sherwood is helping these people identify something. It’s a free service from the Friends of Mineralogy, The Association, and IGAMS. Photo by Stephanie Reed

geology archaeology volcano crystal science kits toys

Science kits for kids (of all ages). Photo by Stephanie Reed

Ever wanted to try flume mining? Get a Nugget Bucket from McDe’s River Gems (Topeka, KS). Photo by Stephanie Reed

Each club in the Association can submit cases to show off things they have done, created, collected, etc. This case is from the Sterling Guild, a club for crafting with silver. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A display of fluorite octahedrons of many different colors and sizes.

Bruce Stinemetz’s fluorite octahedron collection. Photo by Stephanie Reed

A stunning assortment of gem trees from Accessory Minerals (DeSoto, KS). Photo by Stephanie Reed

Jeanne’s Rock and Jewelry (Bellaire, TX) was selling stands and cases for your specimens. Displaying is an important part of collecting, which is often overlooked. Photo by Stephanie Reed

April Field Trip Polls

As you may know, we are having a field trip to Marquette, KS in April. We need to get some feedback to plan the trip. Please answer these 3 polls below.

We are considering staying overnight and also visiting Lake Kanopolis and Lake Wilson.

How shall we get there?

If you want to go on this field trip but you are not yet a member of the club, bring $5 for your membership fee and you can join during the trip.

Show-Me Rockhounds Kansas City

A club for people in Kansas City, MO who enjoy collecting rocks, minerals, fossils, gems, and crystals