#Gemshows CGMA’S 39th Annual Gem, Mineral, Jewelry and Fossil Show and MWF’s 75th Anniversary Convention

by Robyn Hawk on May 10, 2015

Chicagoland Gems & Minerals Association (CGMA) 
Hosts the 39thAnnual Gem, Mineral, Jewelry and Fossil Show and the 75th Anniversary Convention of the 
Midwest Federation of Mineralogical & Geological Societies
Memorial Day Weekend 2015
May 23, Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
May 24, Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
With Special Tours May 22, 23 and 24
DuPage County Fairgrounds
2015 W. Manchester Rd., Wheaton, IL
Dig this: Seven Chicago area rock and mineral clubs present one of the Midwest region’s largest shows for rockhounds in tandem with the 75th Anniversary Convention of the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical and Geological Societies. 

An example of the show stopping Fluorite that the Chicagoland area is known for,
There’s fun galore for the entire family, Memorial Day weekend, May 23 and 24, with more than 30 nationally known dealers, amazing exhibits by museums and private collectors, great educational guest speakers, special tours of the Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art and Wheaton College – Home of the Mastodon, lapidary demonstrations, silent auctions, door prizes, silent auctions, and Kids’ Room. 


Show hours are Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. except wholesale room (requires current state tax ID) open till 3 p.m. Sunday. Shop for rocks, gems, minerals, crystals, fossils, handmade jewelry, beads, tools and supplies, books, findings, and more. 

See hands-on demonstrations of jewelry making, geode cracking, gold panning, opal cutting, metal smithing, glass fusing, wire-wrapping, fossil preparation, faceting, and more. Air-conditioned. Food and camping available. 

Free parking. Adults $5, Students (ages 13-17) and seniors (60+) $3, service personnel and children under 13 free.

Special tours:
Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, Elmhurst, IL. 2 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. Saturday and 2.p.m. Sunday, May 22–24. 220 Cottage Hill Ave. in Wilder Park. Enjoy a 1.5–2 hour tour of this famous “jewel box” displaying gemstone treasures and earth science exhibits, includes a video, a question-and-answer session, and a gallery talk. Museum admission: adults $5, seniors (60+) $4, students and teens  $3, children 7­–12 $2, under age 7 free. Friday is free day at the museum.

Wheaton College – Home of the Mastodon, Dept. of Geology, Wheaton, IL, May 22 and 23. 10:30 a.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday. Meyer Science Center, east entrance, 501 College Ave. In addition to the mastodon display, the college features a small museum area of minerals, fossils, and other geological objects. Of special interest is the greater collection of the late Art Smith, which tour participants will be able to view, as well as other sub-collections not on public display.

Guest speakers:
Saturday, May 23: Larry Phetteplace, Lincoln Intarsia, 10:30 a.m. John Catalani,
            Nautiloids v. Ammonoids, 1 p.m. Scott Sucher, Theories of Grinding and
            Polishing
, 3 p.m.

http://nhminsci.blogspot.com/2012/05/hope-diamond-blue-by-day-red-by-night_22.html

Sunday, May 24: Scott Elrick, Snapshot in Time – Geologic Secrets of the Danville,
            Illinois Fossil Forest
, 10:30 a.m. Scott Sucher, New Discoveries about the
            French Blue and the Hope Diamond
, 1 p.m. Dave Carlson, Soft Tissue
            Preservation in Fossils,
3 p.m.

You can find more info at:  http://cgma.squarespace.com/
                                              http://www.chicagorocks.org/
…keep up with the latest updates on their Facebook Page

The clubs of CGMA are Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society (Skokie), West Suburban Lapidary Club (Elmhurst), Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois (ESCONI, Glen Ellyn), South Suburban Earth Science Club (Park Forest), Des Plaines Valley Geological Society (Des Plaines), Elgin Rock Club (Elgin), and Northeast Illinois Gold Prospectors (Mokena).
Founded in 1940 and one of four founders of the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies (AFMS) in 1947, the MWF held its first convention in Chicago. The MWF encompasses 11 states — Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Nebraska — and more than 150 clubs, The purpose of the MWF is to promote interest and education in geology, mineralogy, paleontology, archaeology, and lapidary, and to sponsor and provide means of coordinating the work and efforts of groups interested in these fields.
http://cgma.squarespace.com/
http://www.chicagorocks.org/

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