This meeting followed the pattern established by most of the previous Fossil Section meetings - a kind of meandering chaos of visiting with old and new friends, munching the host's snacks, wandering around gawking at tables of fossils in the Rock Room - just a typical great time! There was a short presentation given by Gary Leonard and Mike Bruggeman about the fossils and the history of the Chipola formation in Florida, and how Gary, Harry and Mike came to 'discover' this area in the literature and spend several weekends collecting there over the past year. 

  Some important information about the collecting area was provided by Bill Fulton. He informed us that the collecting areas along one of the streams has been posted recently to keep collectors out. Apparently one of the stream banks was undercut enough by a collector to cause a bank to collapse, prompting the property owner to shut the site down. 
 

The Juniors went to the Weinman Mineral Museum in Cartersville on Saturday, Jan. 9.  Jose Santamaria gave us a guided tour of the museum and collection, with a special emphasis on Georgia geology.  The Juniors also learned about the difference between carnivore and herbivore “stuff” by looking at two cross-sectioned dinosaur coprolites (just ask!)  About 10 Juniors, and their parents, attended.  Just a reminder:  the Weinman Museum has a very active Junior club!) 

Get ready for a special day at the Weinman!  Director Jose Santamaria will take you and your parents on a special program throughout the entire museum.  You will learn about the peculiar uses of some of Georgia's rocks and minerals.  You will go on a scavenger hunt to look for some very beautiful gemstones and some really strange minerals.  And you will learn about some
very weird fossils.

Admission: The museum will allow the group rate regardless of numbers.
Children 6 - 11: $2.00, children 12 and over: $3.00, children 5 and under:
free, Adults: $3.50

Directions: Take I-75 north to exit 126 (Hwy 411).  Turn left, go under the expressway and take the first left (Mineral Museum Dr. at the Holiday Inn).  Follow the road past the truck stop to the end, the museum will be at the left.  For more information, please call the museum at (770) 386-0576.

Please RSVP Sue Gorday by Wednesday, January 6th to reserve your places and give Jose an accurate head count.  The program will start promptly at 10:00, so please arrive no later that 9:45 to get checked- in.  The program will end around noon.  If the weather is pleasant, you are welcome bring your lunch and picnic under the covered pavilion.

Sue Gorday - Junior Chair

December Meeting Notes:  The December meeting was held at the Holiday Gem and Mineral Show.  Juniors made gem trees with instruction from Sarah Gorday.  The Juniors would like to thank Martha Brown for her donation of the beautiful quartz cluster bases, and Jim Russell for assistance with supplies.  Between 20 and 30 Juniors made trees.)

Program:

Junior will make gem trees, with help from Sarah Gorday.  (a great gift for Mom!).  Materials will be provided, bring a pretty rock for a base  (extra base material will be available, it may not be pretty!)  All Juniors are invited to come join in the fun.

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November 1998 Meeting:
Same Place - Fernbank Science Center

Nancy Huber of Fernbank has generously arranged for a demonstration of Geology and Mineral related sites on the World Wide Web at Fernbank’s computer center.  We will meet (and have snacks) at the usual classroom, then move to the computer center.  There are enough computers for everyone to log on.  If you have Geology or Mineral Web Sites to share, bring the address.

       With the start of school, many kids will resume activities such as scouts, dancing, and soccer.  We need everyone to check their schedule and determine when the best time to meet is.  We currently meet at Fernbank on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:00 PM.  (Tuesday may not be a good night for Sue and Sarah.)  Is this a good time for others or is another day/time better for the Junior meetings?  Please let us know by calling  Sue Gorday at (770) 986-0822, e-mail:  jgorday@mindspring.com, call Holly Camp at ( 770) 242-0556 or let us know at the Junior Meeting. 

       Panola Mountain is a large hunk of granite formed by a geologic process similar to that which formed Stone Mountain.  Unlike Stone Mountain, Panola is covered with undisturbed moss and solution pools.  You will be able to see close up the effects of weathering on rock. From the top, you can see Stone Mountain and Arabia Mountain.  Since Panola is a state preserve, no one is allowed on the mountain unless escorted by a ranger.  (We will not be allowed to collect anything on this trip, bring your camera!) 

       The hike is about 3 miles and takes ~ 2 hours, about half of which is easy going through shaded woods.  There are frequent stops for the ranger to describe the terrain, geography, etc.  The mountain is about as steep as the walking path up Stone Mountain.  Young children may prefer to view a video at the visitor center. 

            We had a scavenger hunt and had about 15 juniors take part in the hunt.  Over half were juniors just visiting the show and not members.  It looked like everyone had fun filling in the blanks on the sheets and maybe they learned something in the process.  Information was also given to all "Hunters" who were invited to join the  Junior Section and Club.  Maybe for the next show we will give out a sheet to all juniors to fill out as they look through the show with information on joining the club on the back. 

             There will not be any scheduled meeting at the Fernbank Science Center over the summer while school is out.  We hope to arrange a couple of field trips and outings. We will be calling around to get good times to try and schedule the trips around vacations, summer camps and other things going on during the summer.          

       The program for April will be decided upon during the March Junior Meeting and announced to everyone at the April General Meeting.  If you somehow missed either the March Junior Meeting or the April General Meeting, call Sue Gorday at (770) 986-0822 for all the details. Adult members you are welcome to the Junior Section Meetings, especially if you bring a Junior (borrow one from your neighbor!) 
       Note: The Juniors will have their May meeting at the Gem and Mineral Show in Cobb County.  There will be no May meeting at Fernbank.  All the details for the May Meeting will be in May's 
       P.S. A small piece of a continent other than North America got lost and ended up stuck to South East Georgia/North East Florida.  Which continent is it? (First correct answer from a Junior at the April meeting wins a special prize-) 

       Holly ("We are a non-profit organization") Camp will be presenting a program on Dinosaurs. She will have some fossilized dino stuff you can touch and feel (stuff stands for that word your mom won't let you use at the dinner table) to pass around and look at, and has promised to bring three pieces of dino bone to give as door prizes. 
       We will discuss future programs and field trips (input from junior members is needed). 
       p.s. Where was the T-Rex found in Georgia? (First correct answer from a 
              junior at the meeting wins a special prize.) 
 

Date: Thursday, 15 Oct 1998
Time:   7:30 PM
Location: CAMP SUNRISE PLANETARIUM & SCIENCE MUSEUM, 1427 Slate Mine Road, SE, Fairmount, GA  (706)337-2775

Subject: -The Mineral Section will meet at Camp Sunrise this month. Jack Wagner, Manager of Camp Sunrise, has invited the Mineral Section to the Sunrise Science Museum for his 45 minute lecture on the atom and fluorescent minerals.  He has assembled an array of over 2000 fluorescent rocks at the Museum for viewing under UV light.  Mr. Wagner will be leading a guided tour lecture through the different fluorescent mineral displays at the Museum.

Date:   Thursday, 17 Sep 1998
Time:   7:30 PM
Location: Room 103, Hinman Building, Georgia Institute of Technology 
Subject: - The Mineral Section will meet at Georgia Tech this month.  We will be
                exploring the fascinating world of garnets.  There are many garnet varieties to
                be found and discussed.  Please bring your favorite specimens and join in a 
                lively discussion 

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Date: Thursday, 20 Aug 1998 
               Time: 7:30 PM 
               Location: Room 103, Hinman Building, Georgia Institute of Technology 
               Subject - We will be discussing  Cleaning and Feeding your mineral specimens.

 To share the hobby of mineral micromounting with the members of the Georgia Mineral Society at large and the general public.  Our primary goal is to share knowledge and information and to foster a sense of community with micromounters everywhere.  Additionally, it will be the goal of the micromount section to educate others about the hobby of mineral collecting and micromounting in particular by interfacing with schools and with demonstrations at  public forums such as gem and mineral shows. 


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June 21, 2001
"Micromounts"

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March 15, 2001
"Looking for Micros in all the right places."

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June 22, 2000
"Mounting Micromounts"

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February 17, 2000
"To mount or not to mount"

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March 
Thursday, 18th, 1999
7:30 PM
 "What Else Can We Look At?" 

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January
Thursday, 15th, 1999
7:30 PM

 School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 
 Room 103, Hinman Building 
Georgia Institute of Technology 
 Atlanta, GA.

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TIME AND MEETING PLACE CHANGE!

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The topic for this month's section meeting is "Illuminated Micromounts".  These are micromounts of transparent to traniuscent minerals on fiberoptic fibers or other light transmitting fibers which are then lit from behind for viewing.  Kits for mounting an illuminated micromount will be provided to each attendee to be completed and brought to the next section meeting. As always, bring a mineral specimen to share.  The specimen can be broken down to micromount size or a micromount size specimen.  If the specimen is already mounted, so much the better.  The idea is to leave the meeting with a different specimen than what you arrived with.  In this way, we all have the opportunity to add a measure of diversity to our own collections. If you have a stereo microscope, bring it along to the meeting.  The more scopes we have the better.  A large part of the meeting will be devoted to examining micromounts.  If you have an unusual or favorite micromount bring it along. 
Bring your questions as well.  A "Beginners Corner" is planned as a part of each section meeting.  Our goal is to learn, have fun and enjoy the beauty of the "flowers" of the mineral kingdom. 

 
Bring a specimen to share.  The specimen can be a thumbnail which can be broken down to MicroMount size or a MicroMount size specimen. lf the specimen is already mounted, so much the better.  The idea is to leave the meeting with a different specimen than what you arrived with. 

If you have a stereo microscope and light source, bring them to the meeting.  The more scopes we have the better.  For this meeting, bring a few micromounts to show the other members.  We plan discussing different micro mounting techniques and styles. 

If you have questions, bring them to the "Beginners Corner" during the meeting. 

For directions to the home of Julian Gray please call Dave Babulski - Micromount Section Chair at (770)985-1065 


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February - 1998
The first meeting of the MicroMount Section will be on
 February 12th at 7:30 P.M. at the home of Charlie Hall,
 
Bring a mineral specimen to share.  The specimen can be a thumbnail which can be broken down to micromount size or a micromount size specimen.  If the  specimen is already mounted, so much the better.  The idea is to leave the meeting   with a different specimen than what you arrived with.  In this way we all have the opportunity to add a measure of diversity to our own collections.  The plan is to make "specimen haring time" a permanent part of each micromount section meeting. 

If you have a stereo microscope, bring it along to the meeting.  The more scopes we have the better.  A large part of the meeting will be devoted to examining micromounts.  If you have an unusual or favorite micromount bring it along. Bring your questions as well.  A "Beginners Corner" is planned as a part of each micromount section meeting.  Our goal is to learn, have fun and enjoy the beauty of the "flowers" of the mineral kingdom. 

For directions to the home of Charlie Hall please call Dave Babulski - Micromount Section Chair at (770)985-1065