The Mother Lode Mineral Society

Saturday 10am - 6pm

Sunday 10am - 5pm

at the Turlock Fairgrounds

900 North Broadway, Turlock

Come see us the 2nd weekend in March For directions:

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

ROCKS MINERALS JEWELRY BEADS SLABS TOOLS CRYSTALS FOSSILS FLUORESCENTS JEWELER'S SUPPLIES

AND MUCH MUCH MORE!

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Dealers for our 2008 show:

We have a host of dealers at our show where you can purchase rocks, minerals, supplies for lapidary and jewelry making, tools, fossils, fluorescents and much much more!

Speakers for 2008!

Saturday, March 8

 

Adult Speakers

10:30 Agates, everyone loves agates with Bob Jones

12:00 Plate Tectonics with Walter Wright

1:30 Pre-historic Marine Fossils with Dr. Alan Schaffert

3:00 World's Largest Crystals - Selenite with Bob Jones

Children's Speakers

12:30 Dinosaurs with Richard Wade

3:30 Dinosaurs with Richard Wade

 

Sunday, March 9

 

Adult Speakers

10:30 Emeralds, the green variety of beryl with Bob Jones

1:00 Plate Tectonics with Walter Wright

2:30 Quartz, one of the most popular and common minerals on Earth with Bob Jones

 

Children's Speakers

11:00 Discover Dinosaurs with Richard Wade

1:30 Discover Dinosaurs with Richard Wade

 

 

ABOUT DR. ALAN SCHAFFERT

Alan Schaffert is a local physician and an amateur paleontologist with a passion for marine fossils. He found his first fossil by accident at age thirteen when he and his brothers were throwing rocks on a stone beach in Northern Michigan. One rock shattered as it landed and out popped a perfect brachiopod. It was awesome and he was hooked. Many more rocks were enthusiastically cracked that afternoon, alas, they were all duds. Far from being disappointed, this object lesson only served to wet his appetite for collecting more fossils.

Over the next 40 years, Alan and his wife Cris have personally collected specimens from Michigan, Colorado, Utah, and California. He has also purchased numerous marine fossils from around the world. A major focus of the collection is Cretaceous ammonites. They were a group of ancient shellfish related to the modern octopus and squid. The shells of the ammonites were often simple. Sometimes the shells were elaborate or rarely quite bizarre.

Alan and Cris are very pleased to share specimens from the collection. They hope that the public will enjoy learning about them as much as they do.

Exhibits:

DINOSAURS!! .........FOSSILS!!!

See our special exhibits

• Dinosaur nest with several eggs!
• Dinosaur foot print and a coprolite exhibit (dino droppings)
• A full skeleton of a Plesiosaur
• A 10" wide opalized ammonite!

Guest and member exhibitors also bring out the best efforts of our artistry and collections. Most of the exhibits are self collected materials from our field trips and jewelry hand made from our classes.

click here to see a list of our...

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Demonstrations:

Come see our demonstrators! Members of the Mother Lode Mineral Society and students of the Modesto Junior College Lapidary and Jewelry classes will demonstrate the various skills of our hobby. You are invited to watch and ask questions as they work. There will be special demonstrations and participation for kids on carving and beading.

Fluorescent Display:

COLOR! That's what it's all about. Come on down to BUILDING #2 to the Big Black Tent and see the fabulous fluorescent colors that ultraviolet lamps bring out of plain old drab looking rocks. WOW!

Large Fluorescent Franklinite Plate from the Stewart's

52 Fluorescent Spheres from Connie Klein

Mine Dump                               You never know what you treasures you will get from the Mine Cart coming down through the mine!

Raffle   All kinds of wonderful items this year for the Raffle!

Bracelets   Kids can come make braceletes out of all kinds if beautiful beads   Treasure Hunt: The treasure hunt is a fun activity for children of all ages to find several items located throughout the display cases. It is designed to educate and expose children to the wonders of rocks, minerals and fossils. Take time to search with your children for each item then talk with them about what they see.

Touch & See:   A favorite display for all ages. This is an area where you may touch the items on the table to examine and ask questions.   We have rock, mineral and fossil specimens along with artifacts and field collected items that can be shaped and polished. The displays are labeled. The items on display are provided by loan and gifts from our club members.

Silent Auction

A great selection of rocks and minerals are offered for your bidding & Sale! A large amount of the material includes pieces from 3 old collections, much of which is no longer available for collecting by the public! Some are field trip specials, chosen with care to share with our visitors.   We also feature a Junior section where bidding is reserved for those 12 years or younger.

We would like to thank everyone on our Show Committee for everything you

do to make this show possible!

 

Click here to see our list of Committee Members: