On a personal note, I had planned to be the speaker in residence at the semi-annual education retreat put on by the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies at Wildacres, near Little Switzerland, North Carolina. I’ve been the “Speaker in Residence” every third year since the late 1980s, but not so in 2021, with the event being canceled.
Another exciting event many in Arizona were looking forward to was the expected grand opening of the new Alfie Norville University of Arizona Gem and Mineral Museum in Tucson. The hope was the museum might be ready to open during the annual Tucson gem and mineral event in February 2021. But, like so many events, it could not happen. Some mineral dealers refused to accept the situation and opened for business at the usual January-February time, but it had, by comparison, only a feeble impact on the uncommonly quiet City of Tucson.
By early March, the museum was well along, with most minerals in place and most interactive displays in place despite equipment delays. Staff was still adding minerals, mainly specimens being brought by collectors who were putting some of their best minerals on display for an extended time. This certainly adds exceptional mineral specimens and artifacts to the displays. The idea of loaning specimens is a good one. Visitors get to see mineral specimens they might never see otherwise. Such loaned specimens enhance already good displays, often with exceptional specimens, while allowing for occasional changes in exhibits to avoid the stogy situation seen in older museums. I can’t help but think mineral specimens displayed in some forgotten old museums have simply been consigned there to die!
TAKING THE TOUR
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2021 edition of Rock&Gem Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORGAN HILL POPPY JASPER
In California, there are very few places to collect semi-precious stones. Many locations from the past have been either exhausted of the material or the land has been developed.
THE ACORN
The briolette gemstone has the same design attributes of a regular gemstone, however, the pavilion is elongated and the crown is usually domed. This is perfect for an elegant pendant, earrings or a pendulum.
HOW TO PUT A PROTECTIVE CAP ON A CAB
To protect a specimen cab, often a cap is needed. In my case, I had a slab with the because of the color of the background and the pattern. This background had a more silicified consistency than most sandstones. It had no graininess like most sandstone, so I'm inclined to compare it to a jasper. The pattern was typical of a dendrite.
The Resilient Revival of Anne Brontë & Her Stones
For the first time, the Anne Brontë rock collection underwent complete description and identification, and along with Professor Hazel Hutchison of Leeds University and Dr. Enrique Lozano Diz at ELODIZ (a company specializing in spectroscopy analysis), an analysis of that collaboration, Anne Brontë and Geology: A Study of her Collection of Stones, was published in April 2022 in Volume 47, Issue 2 of the peer-reviewed journal, Brontë Studies & Gazette.\"
Amazing Women with Rock-Solid Careers
Explorers, Geologists, Educators & Jewelry Makers...
The Case of the Bleeding Glacier
It's a gory sight called Blood Falls. Ever since British geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor first noted it in 1911, it has been a mystery.
Asteroid Samples Are Said to Hold Invaluable Secrets
If Only Scientists Can Pop the Lid!
Paleontologists Embrace a New Method for Seeing Fossils within Rock
Fossil bone can be delicate. Attempts to remove it from a hard rock matrix by picking and scratching or etching with acids can be time-consuming and/or may end up obliterating that which you hope to study.
Need a Map of the Ocean Floor?
Call in the Seals!
A Step Closer to Hydrogen, the "Climate-Friendly Fuel"
As I reported last June, the world is racing to find sustainably renewable, nonpolluting sources of energy to replace our carbon-based reserves of coal, oil and gas.
