Gem & Mineral Show

There are so many cool things to see - and touch - at a gem and mineral show. This weekend I went to Huntsville’s 50th annual Gem, Jewelry & Mineral Show. It’s put on by the Huntsville Gem & Mineral Society (“We’ll go to the moon for a rock”). I had no intention of buying anything this time. I gave away a bunch of my collection recently during major home decluttering. Well, I bought five items at the very first table I encountered! (It would have been much smarter to check out all the sellers first, but I lucked out and did end up getting the best prices.)

I wasn't going to buy anything. Yeah, right. This is my haul. I couldn't resist.

Skulls seemed to be popular this year.

There are several display cases with fluorescent minerals glowing under UV light in the Fluorescent Room (more of a tent). You can turn the light switch on and off to see what the minerals look like in regular light too.

Look at these fossils! It’s like going to a natural history museum. (Don't touch these.) 

Dinosaur footprints from Massachusetts 

Jewelry and jewelry making supplies:

When my kids were young, our favorite thing was the “rock food table.” It still is. This exhibit has been traveling to shows across the U.S. since 1983. It consists mostly of rocks in their natural state, with some cut or dyed. They have actually had incidences of people sneaking a snack but, luckily, realizing something was amiss before breaking a tooth. 

Lots of kids were enjoying panning for treasures at the Mining Flume and digging at the Dinosaur Dig.

They also have lapidary demonstrations, geode cutting, and jewelry making demos. It really is fun for the whole family.