Tucson Gem and Mineral Show
This last week I had the opportunity to attend the 2024 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. I have been to the Denver Gem and Mineral Show many times, but this was the first trip to see the Tucson gem show. The picture included for this blog is one of my favorite cases from that day. It is a collection of gems and minerals on display, ranging from tourmaline to kunzite to topaz and all forms of beryl, including: emerald, heliodor, and aquamarine. There were many cases that were exemplary, and this is just one of my favorite sets of gems from that day.
It was really interesting for me to see the number of people attending this show. It never ceases to amaze me how many people love gems and minerals. There were people from around the world with booths set up with samples of things to sell. There were many amazing jewelry booths, which are always a favorite for me, as well as vendors cracking open geodes resulting in cheers heard throughout the convention center hall. Additionally, there were people from around the world selling samples that they had collected out in the field. One of my favorite vendors this year was selling Herkimer diamonds that he had located and extracted himself. He could be heard saying that this was his best year of prospecting in this location. Herkimer diamonds are in fact quartz. Many of the samples from Herkimer, New York are doubly terminated, meaning that they have crystal points on both sides of the crystal.
There were also vendors from England with green fluorite samples being sold. Some of these green fluorite samples fluoresce in sunlight! A demonstration was provided for me showing that this green sample indeed turned blue in the sunlight. I also learned new information about fluorite from this vendor. “All fluorite fluoresces under a UV light!” A quick survey of my own samples at home has demonstrated this to be true! What a wonderful day surrounding myself with others who share the same passion for geology!
An additional picture contains my personal favorite mineral, tourmaline. Deep pink tourmaline is called rubellite. There were many amazing samples of tourmaline on display, and for sale, at this event!
For me, minerals are beautiful whether they are in their natural state or used to make unique pieces of jewelry. However, identifying minerals can be a real challenge to young people in the classroom. One of my very favorite worksheets I’ve made in my years of teaching, is the visualization worksheet designed to help differentiate between minerals that cleave, minerals that fracture, and minerals that are crystals. This can be a very tricky subject for students to grasp if they are new to studying minerals. Check out my website at Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT), MidnightStar. There you will find my mineral lesson with the reference page as well as an answer key for common minerals for you to use in your classroom.