MONROE - Badger Lapidary and Geological Society will hold their 39th annual Jewelry, Mineral, Fossil and Gem Show from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, at the Monroe Senior High School, 1600 26th St., Monroe. The event is family friendly and has free parking and a free-will donation at the door. The kids' activities are either free or subsidized by the organization, such as the kids' fishpond for only 25 cents each bag, and for the adults, free talks on earth science topics.
For the first time in its 39-year history, the show will have a theme, "Driftless Treasures of the Badger State," that pays homage to local geology. Find out at the show why the mascot is the Badger and why a miner and a pick ax are on the state flag.
Guest exhibits are expected from Milwaukee Public Museum, the University of Madison Geology Museum and the Platteville Mining Museum, to name a few. Many of these items have not been seen in the public for years.
Many people come just for the speaker schedule:
• 11 a.m. Saturday, Museum Curator Michael Riesch of the Earthhaven Museum in Gillette will be speaking on "Earthhaven Museum: Curating Wisconsin's Mining and Mineral Heritage.
• 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Environmental Engineer Johanne Paradis and Dr. Normand Labbe of Montreal, QC, Canada will talk about the "Unearthed Mountains from Quebec and Their Minerals." Quebec is blessed with some of the best mineral collecting in the world.
• 3 p.m. Saturday, Dr. Eric Carson of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey will talk about "Wisconsin's Lead Mining Heritage." This will be a fresh look at what has shaped much of the local history.
• 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Curator Mike Henderson of the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Ill., will talk about "Utah's New Discovery: A Dinosaur Graveyard." He will detail this significant new find with many photos.
• 3 p.m. Sunday, Dr. Jordan Marche, Historian of Science, will talk about "Did the Ice Age End With a Bang?: A New Theory of the Megafaunal Mass Extinction."
Another free event is the walk-in black light tent, where ordinary minerals will glow fluorescent colors in your hand. There will be about 20 display cases showing some of the best geological finds this state has to offer. There will be free hourly door prizes, as well as some excellent home-cooked food being served. Children have a free activity for the scavenger hunt, as well as Fossil Casting, where the kids get to keep what they make.
Most of the demonstrators are specializing in jewelry this year. Expected are a silver solder specialist from Green Bay, a cold forger silver specialist, a facetor, a goldsmith, a pearl knotter, a wire wrapper artist, and a cabochon cutter, all working at the show. For anyone interested in making jewelry, this will be the spot to learn.
The always knowledgeable Rock Wizard will be roaming around to answer any questions about minerals or fossils, or to have odd stones identified.
Ten dealers from around the Midwest have items for sale, ranging from affordable beginner pieces for $1 up to museum pieces into the thousands of dollars. There will also be some butterflies and insects for sale, as well as other natural items of beauty.
The Badger Lapidary and Geological Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1965 in Monroe, with the purpose of stimulating the interest of its members and the general public in the study of geology, paleontology, archeology, lapidary arts, beading, and mineralogy. The club has given many scholarships to local high school students who go on to study the sciences. Periodicals and books have been donated to local libraries and schools to further the public's interest in science. The club also has equipment and books available to its members, as well as an award-winning newsletter and field trips for collecting specimens.
Rockhounding, as it is traditionally called, is a family hobby for anyone interested in nature, science, history, art, and good friendships. Anyone interesting in joining the club can sign up at the membership table at the show or attend one of the monthly meetings, which are held at the Monroe Public Library on the second Saturday of each month, starting at 10 a.m. Visitors are always welcome. For more information about the show or the organization, check out the club's Web site at www.MonroeRockClub.org or contact the show chairman David Zimmerman at (608) 921-0206 or David@ShowChair.com.
For the first time in its 39-year history, the show will have a theme, "Driftless Treasures of the Badger State," that pays homage to local geology. Find out at the show why the mascot is the Badger and why a miner and a pick ax are on the state flag.
Guest exhibits are expected from Milwaukee Public Museum, the University of Madison Geology Museum and the Platteville Mining Museum, to name a few. Many of these items have not been seen in the public for years.
Many people come just for the speaker schedule:
• 11 a.m. Saturday, Museum Curator Michael Riesch of the Earthhaven Museum in Gillette will be speaking on "Earthhaven Museum: Curating Wisconsin's Mining and Mineral Heritage.
• 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Environmental Engineer Johanne Paradis and Dr. Normand Labbe of Montreal, QC, Canada will talk about the "Unearthed Mountains from Quebec and Their Minerals." Quebec is blessed with some of the best mineral collecting in the world.
• 3 p.m. Saturday, Dr. Eric Carson of the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey will talk about "Wisconsin's Lead Mining Heritage." This will be a fresh look at what has shaped much of the local history.
• 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Curator Mike Henderson of the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Ill., will talk about "Utah's New Discovery: A Dinosaur Graveyard." He will detail this significant new find with many photos.
• 3 p.m. Sunday, Dr. Jordan Marche, Historian of Science, will talk about "Did the Ice Age End With a Bang?: A New Theory of the Megafaunal Mass Extinction."
Another free event is the walk-in black light tent, where ordinary minerals will glow fluorescent colors in your hand. There will be about 20 display cases showing some of the best geological finds this state has to offer. There will be free hourly door prizes, as well as some excellent home-cooked food being served. Children have a free activity for the scavenger hunt, as well as Fossil Casting, where the kids get to keep what they make.
Most of the demonstrators are specializing in jewelry this year. Expected are a silver solder specialist from Green Bay, a cold forger silver specialist, a facetor, a goldsmith, a pearl knotter, a wire wrapper artist, and a cabochon cutter, all working at the show. For anyone interested in making jewelry, this will be the spot to learn.
The always knowledgeable Rock Wizard will be roaming around to answer any questions about minerals or fossils, or to have odd stones identified.
Ten dealers from around the Midwest have items for sale, ranging from affordable beginner pieces for $1 up to museum pieces into the thousands of dollars. There will also be some butterflies and insects for sale, as well as other natural items of beauty.
The Badger Lapidary and Geological Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1965 in Monroe, with the purpose of stimulating the interest of its members and the general public in the study of geology, paleontology, archeology, lapidary arts, beading, and mineralogy. The club has given many scholarships to local high school students who go on to study the sciences. Periodicals and books have been donated to local libraries and schools to further the public's interest in science. The club also has equipment and books available to its members, as well as an award-winning newsletter and field trips for collecting specimens.
Rockhounding, as it is traditionally called, is a family hobby for anyone interested in nature, science, history, art, and good friendships. Anyone interesting in joining the club can sign up at the membership table at the show or attend one of the monthly meetings, which are held at the Monroe Public Library on the second Saturday of each month, starting at 10 a.m. Visitors are always welcome. For more information about the show or the organization, check out the club's Web site at www.MonroeRockClub.org or contact the show chairman David Zimmerman at (608) 921-0206 or David@ShowChair.com.