ROCKWOOD ROCKHOUND NEWS for APRIL
2001
April Field Trip
On Saturday, April 21, we have a
great opportunity to visit a geologist in his own laboratory.
Dr. Daniel Kremser will talk about his work and show us his high powered
microscope . This will take place in
room 208 Wilson Hall, Washington
University at 11:00 am.
Perhaps
we can arrange a car pool at the next meeting since we hope to have a large turn
out. After all, how often do we get
to see a working geologist in his native habitat!
Comments, Etc.
St.
Louis Zoo Programs
Each month the Zoo has seminars on
all sorts of topics that nature lovers enjoy.
These are either free or for a minimal charge and are held in the Living
World building. Your editor had the
privilege of attending a seminar given
by Art Wolfe, a famous Wildlife and Nature Photographer.
He lectured and showed slides of pictures he took for his book, The
Living Wild. He
and several famous naturalists put this book together to celebrate
the millennium. He used wide angle
lenses and got up very close so that his pictures showed the animals in their
natural habitats. Geologists, animal
lovers and photographers will really enjoy his book.
It can be purchased at the zoo.
The
next seminar coming up will be on April 18 from 7:30 to 9:00 pm, The Science
Seminar series will present a free lecture by
Dr. Larry Haskin of Washington University Department of Earth and
Planetary Sciences. He will be
talking about “Life on Mars: A
Mineral’s Perspective.” Call
314-768-5466 for more information.
For
Sale
We received two notices on our
website from people who have things to sell.
The first was from MarDian99@aol.com.
She is seeking buyers for for a large rock collection that belonged to
her in-laws. Here is a copy of her
e-mail
Claudia
Thank you for responding, I do have more information on some of the rocks we
have, most all the rocks came from the west coast, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming,
Montana and Utah. We have petrified
wood (different kinds) chicken track agate and jadite from Washington (green)
also thunder eggs, red, blue, and green from beds in Pridy Ranch in Oregon.
Also we have a jar of raw opal. We
are in need of help in pricing, if you have any suggestions with this we would
really appreciate it. We are located
in the
Hillsboro
area off HWY 21.
We have over 50 crates of rock we would really like to sell.
The
next e-mail was from M. Anis in
India
.
Dear Sirs / Madam,
We export exquisite Mineral Specimens, Zeolites, Agates, Tumbled Polished
Stones and other Rock Stones, from
India
.
If you could put up this offer to your members, through the
various mediums open to you, we shall be glad to entertain their queries and
give them our best offers.
It would also help if you could let us have their names & addresses
(including e-mail) for direct contact.
Our e-mail : anisaz9@vsnl.com
fax no.: 91-22-2696799
snail mail : SAZ & Company
GPO Box No. 1053
Bombay
400 001
India
.
April
Mineral of the Month
Hank Schlichter will continue
with his “Mineral of the Month.” This
month it will be dolomite. Bring a
specimen to share with us.
Minutes
of
Rockwood Gem
and Mineral Society meeting
The meeting was called to order by Pres. Bob Morse at 7;10
P.M. There were 12 members and 1 guest present.
The Secretary’s report was read and accepted.
The Treasurer’s report was read and accepted.
FIELD TRIP: We will go to
Washington
University
in April.
We would like to go to
Eureka
off highway 109 next week end
if weather permits
August is the next Association Show
. We will need volunteers.
The more participation we give the more we collect for our club.
Are we interested in the Science Fair? If
so we will need to get our request in very soon.
Andrew Larson went to the
Field
Museum
in
Chicago
.
He saw a lot of Jade, Russian Gold and lots of jewelry.
Marianne Toenjes needs an update on all our phone numbers.
The door prize was won by Joan Schlichter.
The second door prize was won by Claudia Uccello.
Business meeting adjourned at
7:27 P.M.
Hank Schlichter gave a very interesting program on pyrite.
Beverly Sky had a video on Russian Gold jewelry.
It was very interesting.
Respectfully submitted
Helen Heitland, Sec.
W
e are pleased to announce that we have four new members.
James Butery is a former Hydrolic
Engineer who retired nine years ago. James
has been interested in geology and rock collecting since his college years.
He is also an avid gardener, golfer and has raised horses.
James, a native of
St. Louis
is a bachelor who lives in Wildwood.
Joyce
Erard is also a native St. Louisian who has lived in Ballwin for the last 30
years. She is a widow with a
daughter, a son and four grandchildren.
Her whole family has always been interested in the outdoors and the
natural environment. They have been
bringing home rocks for years and now she wants to learn more.
Joyce has many hobbies--fishing, gardening, painting water colors,
sewing, cooking, reading and swimming! She
works part time as a receptionist in medical records at
Friendship
Village
.
Next
month we will feature new members, Benjamin
& Marilyn Miller.
Thanks!
Thanks
go to Barbara Sky for volunteering to be our association representative.
We
also want to thank Andy & Dianne Larson and Joan & Hank Schlichter for
judging the Science Fair.
News From Other Clubs
Egg
Shell Geodes
by
Anna Domitrovic
Don’t
throw those egg shells away!! If
prepared properly, you can make your own Geodes!
First
make sure there are no cracks in the egg shell halves.
There is a thin skin on the inside of the shells you’ll have to remove,
otherwise the crystals won’t be able to attach themselves and grow.
Carefully remove the inner skin by using a tweezers, or gently roll it
out with your fingertip. Set the cleaned egg shell halves back into the egg
carton.
Mineral
crystals grow out of solutions, sometimes over millions of years, sometimes
fairly quickly. Your mineral
crystals will grow in a matter of
days. But first you must mix the
solution. Start with salt.
Dissolve the salt in about 1/2 cup of warm
water, until you can dissolve no more. You
are making a super saturated solution. Now
add some food coloring to the solution.
Fill
the bottom of your egg shell halves with the salt water solution.
Then drop a few extra grains of salt into the egg shell for seed
crystals. Set the egg cartons aside
until the salt solution has evaporated. It
may take several days depending on how much solution you put into the shell.
Note
how and where the crystals grew in your geodes.
What crystal shape do you see? Is
the color what you expected? Look at
some grains of salt under a microscope or a hand lens.
What do you see and how does it compare to your geodes?
Try
another super saturated solution in your geodes, like sugar, alum, Epsom salt,
etc. See how they form. (Via the Trilobite, The Gemrock and ES News)
Ammonites
Ammonites were named after the Egyptian God
Ammon, who was often pictured as a man with a ram’s head.
Since this small sea animal looked like a coiled ram’s horn, what
better name could there be? Ammonites
first appeared about 375 million years ago and were very common for about 200
million years. At that point they
became extinct. These creatures
moved about in the water in a way somewhat related to the way a modern jet plane
moves about in the air. The ammonite
squirted water through a tube in one direction, thus moving itself in the
opposite direction. Equipped with
octopus-like arms, they probably fed on the small sea animals that were an easy
catch. Other features of the
ammonite were its two large eyes and sharp beak.
Although ammonites usually measured
only a few inches across, some have been found that measure six feet across.
Related to the squid and octopus, its closest living relative is the
pearly nautilus.
(Via ES News)
Useful
Tip
When preparing fossils for display, ENDUST will
bring out the details without leaving an undesirable shiny finish. (Via
Pegmatite)
To
all the rocks in your life...
A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some
items in front of him. When class
began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to
fill it
with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter.
He then asked the students if the jar was full?
They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the
jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.
He then asked the student again if the jar
was full. They agreed it was.
The students laughed. The
professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
"Now," said the professor, "I want you to
recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your
family, your partner, your health, your children -- anything that is so
important to you that if it were
lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The
pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.
The sand is everything else -- the
small stuff.
"If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no
room for the pebbles or the rocks. The
same goes for your life. If you
spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for
the things that are important to
you. Pay attention to the things
that are critical to your happiness. Play
with your children. Take time to get
medical checkups.
Take your partner out dancing.
"There will always be time to go to work, clean the
house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.
Take care of the rocks first -- the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest
is just sand." (Via the Internet)
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