Do you ever wonder how the earth was formed? What makes up the natural world around us? The answers are trapped in the layers of rocks and minerals right below our feet!
Even the simplest rock you find in your driveway has a complex and fascinating story to tell. Take quartz, for example. It’s the most common mineral on the planet, constituting 20% of the planet’s surface, and found in almost every gem and mineral on the planet. Interested in learning more? The Prescott Gem and Mineral Club is dedicated to doing just that.
This year celebrating its 20th anniversary, PGMC is a nonprofit charitable organization providing education, scholarships, gem-and-mineral field trips, a lapidary shop and materials to members, students, schools and libraries. Today PGMC is the largest such club in Arizona, with over 300 members, offering lapidary classes in the club’s state-of-the-art workshop, where you can learn to cut and polish gems and minerals under the guidance of experienced lapidary artists. The club also organizes field trips around Arizona and neighboring states offering rare opportunities to hunt for gems and minerals in the wild.
Dedication to education is central to the PGMC’s mission, and every semester it sponsors three full scholarships at Yavapai College in lapidary, jewelry and geology. These are extraordinary opportunities for students interested in exploring these subjects, and applications are available for download from the club website.
Each year PGMC hosts the Prescott Gem and Mineral Show at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, offering everything both new and well seasoned rockhounds could want! This year’s show will feature previous favorites like the Junior Rockhound section, where kids and kids at heart can crack a geode, pan for gold, take a turn at the spinning wheel and even hold a piece of coprolite (fossilized dinosaur poop) to learn how a living animal can turn to stone. The Trading Faces face-painters will be back for kids of all ages.
A unique exhibit is the fluorescent-mineral booth. Did you know rocks can glow in the dark? Some of the most common are calcite, fluorite and sodalite, but there are many more. Even some gemstones, including diamonds, can glow in the dark under the right light. More than a simple display, the fluorescent-mineral booth is a kinetic educational show, using lasers and two different ultraviolet illuminators to show off the unique ability of these minerals to transform from ordinary to extraordinary.
Over 65 vendors from all over the Southwest bring their collections and wares to show and sell, a favorite aspect of the Gem Show. Veteran exhibitors like Keith Horst, whose dedication and instruction through the Yavapai College Lapidary program has inspired generations of rock hounds, will be showing cabochons, rough material for lapidary work, finished jewelry, specimens and so much more.
New vendors this year will include David Freeland, whose award-winning inlay jewelry is a must-see. Clay Collins of Tronic Rocks will be showing his beautiful gemstone carvings, and Nathan Scholten will be demonstrating jade-carving live!
Turquoise fans won’t want to miss Turquoise Mountain. This native-owned business carries the finest in turquoise jewelry and cabochons.
So whether you’re interested in buying jewelry or simply collecting rocks, the Prescott Gem and Mineral Show provides all that and much more. The club encourages you to stop by, join as a member, sign up for field trips, and split a geode.
Beware, attending can lead to symptoms that include an inability to resist anything sparkly, stooped posture, owning more rocks than underwear, and finding yourself compelled to examine every rock in your driveway. See you there!
