Houston Gem & Mineral Society Annual Show
September 21-23, 2007
The Houston Gem and Mineral Society is having its annual Gem, Jewelry, Mineral, and Fossil Show on September 21-23, 2007. The show will be held at 8233 Will Clayton Parkway, just east of Hwy 59, two exits north of Beltway 8, exactly five miles east of the Bush International Airport (IAH). There is plenty of FREE parking. The show will be open to the public during the following times:

   Friday,  September 21         9 to 6 
   Saturday,  September 22     9 to 6 
   Sunday,  September 23      10 to 5 

Tickets for the show are $5 for adults, $3 for students with an ID, and $3 for seniors 55 and older. One ticket is good for all three days of the show. Children 11 and under (accompanied by an adult) are FREE!

SPECIAL EXHIBIT
More on this later. 

There will be many other exciting exhibits of minerals, fossils, gems, and jewelry (these are listed in the links below). FREE gemstone, mineral, and fossil identification service is available. Also register for the Grand Door Prize at no additional cost!

For more information, e-mail the Show Chairman, Sigrid Stewart, at show@hgms.org.

FREE IDENTIFICATIONS
GEMSTONE
Our gem expert is Sherman Trumble. He is in training for his Gemological Institute of America (GIA) certificate. A gemologist performs gem identification. Gem identification is the scientific process of verifying, in precise terms, the identity of gem material through the examination of its physical and chemical properties. Appraising is the formal process of ascertaining the value of a gem or item of jewelry by evaluating its quality, rarity, and market value.

At the show anyone who has a fashioned gem, in or out of a mounting, can bring it to our gemologist. He will be happy to examine it and give it his best informed guess as to its identity. He will not appraise at the show, but will explain how and why he has arrived at his identification. He will have reference books and diagnostic equipment.

MINERAL
Bring your mineral specimens to the HGMS Mineral Section booth for identification by a professional mineralogist.

FOSSIL
Bring your fossil specimens to the HGMS Paleontology Section booth for identification by a professional paleontologist.
KIDS ACTIVITIES
Our education committee has developed a lesson plan for elementary and secondary school kids. We have officially designated Friday as KID'S DAY so teachers can bring their classes to the show to participate in this fun learning experience for kids of all ages. All kids and teachers are FREE. Each class will participate in age-appropriate Scavenger Hunts that will teach them about earth science. Every student will leave with a free mineral or fossil specimen. Teachers can request a SCHOOL MINERAL OR FOSSIL SET. See the links below for more information.

    Details and sign-up sheets
    Earth Science education by grade level 

DEMONSTRATIONS
This area is staffed by the Lapidary and Faceting Sections of the HGMS. They show continuous demonstrations of faceting, cabbing, silversmithing, and much more. For instance, here are some of the demos you can see during the show: Centrifugal casting, stone carving, cabbing using a Genie, fabrication using a jewelry bench, and repousè and copper bowl raising. 

MINERAL SECTION
See the famous Fluorescent Mineral display featuring minerals from around the world. It is housed in a specially constructed black-light room. The Mineral Section booth also sells many mineral publications and periodicals (including Rocks & Minerals Magazine). Find out about the SCHOOL MINERAL AND FOSSIL SETS sponsored by ConocoPhillips. These sets are available to teachers who teach rock and mineral identification in earth science classes. 

PALEONTOLOGY SECTION
On display will be fossil collections by club members, many of whom are renowned for their work in advancing paleontology. Several of our members are published authors and have named new fossil species. Books published by the Section will be on display and will be available for purchase. There will also be a "touch fossil" section where kids can feel and hold their own fossil. Experts will be on hand to IDENTIFY FOSSILS, so bring your fossils to the show. Section members will also tell you about the classes the Paleo Section teaches, field trips the Section takes each month, and about the Paleo Library which has over 1700 titles. 

SWAP AREA
Find excellent deals on minerals, fossils, lapidary rough, and jewelry at the officially sanctioned "amateur area." To learn more about the Swap Area, click here. 

CASE EXHIBITS
We have over 50 case exhibits featuring every aspect of the hobby. Some are special exhibits that tour various gem and mineral shows. Others are competitive exhibits that are judged by a panel of experts. Winners go on to regional and national shows for further recognition and awards. 

Large-scale case exhibits (with multiple cases) are presented by San Jacinto College, the Proctor Museum of Natural Science, and George Wolf. Other important contributors are the University of Houston, Houston Museum of Natural Science, HGMS Lapidary Section, HGMS Faceting Section, and HGMS Youth Section. Many dealers also show their prized specimens in case exhibits as do individual club members. The case exhibits are a show in themselves!!