Junior Geologists
An
evening for kids and their parents
The
Jr. Geologists meet every third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the
Reynolds Branch of the Boulder Public Library at 3595
Table Mesa Drive, just west of Broadway. The program is open to all club
families. Parents are encouraged to join their kids at the meetings and take
part in the activities. Every child who wishes to work on the rockhound badges
needs to sign up with Dennis Gertenbach.
Just by signing up, each child receives the Future Rockhound of
We
meet at the Reynolds Branch of the Boulder Public Library at 3595 Table Mesa
Drive, just west of Broadway at 6:30.
This fall we studied how American Indians
and other Stone Age peoples used rocks and minerals in their everyday
life. We ground corn and used minerals to
make paint to create our own rock art.
Terry O’Donnell talked about the various types or rocks the Indians used
to fashion their tools and showed them how spear points and arrow heads were
made by flint knapping.
Beginning
in 2012, there will be five new badges for us to work on – Fluorescent
Minerals, Minerals with Special Properties, Thumbnails and Micromounts,
Reaching Across Generations, and Mapping.
Lots of fun things are coming next year! Contact Dennis Gertenbach for details.
Specimens
Wanted: For the Jr. Geologists, we are looking for
smoky and clear quartz crystals, calcite for hardness kits, and specimens that
are too big for grab bags that the kids would like. As you are cleaning out your collection this
winter, think about donating your unwanted specimens to the kids. Contact Dennis if you have specimens to
donate.
Helpers
Wanted: We are looking for adults that would like
to work with the kids. Currently, we are
looking for club members with lapidary skills and equipment, computer expertise
to help the kids set up a website, and helpers with expertise in a geology or
earth science. We can always use helpers
at each of our monthly meetings. See Dennis if you would like to help with
the Jr. Geologists program.
Stone Age Tools and Art badge
January 21 (Saturday): For January, we will be taking part in the
Snowmass Fossils and Denver Museum Tour, where we will be joining kids from
other rock clubs for a special day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
In the morning we will have a special private presentation and tour of the
Snowmass fossils with Ian Miller. In the
afternoon we will tour the Prehistoric Journey and the Coors Mineral Hall
exhibits with Steve Veatch as our guide
Field
trip to Snowmass on January 21, 2012.
The Jr. Geologists have been invited to
join several other Colorado rock youth for a special day at the Denver Museum
of Nature and Science. In the morning we
will have a special private presentation and tour of the Snowmass fossils with
Ian Miller. In the afternoon we will
tour the Prehistoric Journey and the Coors Mineral Hall exhibits with Steve
Veatch as our guide. Steve leads the
youth groups of the Lake George Gem and Mineral Club and the Colorado Springs
Mineralogical Club. More details to come.
This trip is one of a number of joint
trips geared specifically for kids that have taken place in the past two
years. More are planned for 2012. Besides the Jr. Geologists, the other
participating Colorado clubs with special youth programs include the Lake
George Gem and Mineral Club, the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Club, and the
Western Interior Paleontological Society.
The goal of these joint activities is to provide the kids with more
opportunities to get out in the field for first-hand observations, plus the
chance to make new friends in other clubs.
***********************
Past
Meetings 2011
January
20 – Field trip to the Western Museum of Mining and Industry.
February
17 –
March
17 – The Jr. Geologists wrapped up their study of rocks and minerals, using the
skills they learned over the past several months to identify different
minerals, completing the requirements for the Rocks and Minerals Badge.
March
12 (Saturday ) – Field Trip to the
Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum, Golden, CO.
March
26 (Saturday) and March 27 (Sunday) – Crystal Growing,. Come learn about
crystals and how they grow. Everyone will get to grow several types of
crystals. For the younger kids (9 and younger), there will be two sessions on
March 26, one between 10 am and noon and the second between 2 and 4 pm. For the older kids (10 and older), we will
meet on Sunday, March 27 between 2 and 4 pm.
April
21 –
May
19 –Our May meeting was volcano night, where we learned about the different
types of volcanoes, how they are formed, and how volcanoes and earthquakes are
created along the edges of the earth’s plates. We capped the night by making
volcanoes and shooting them off. All participants completed requirements for
their Earth Processes badge.
June
16 – Coprolite Field Trip: we went to a Pierre Shale location outside of
Superior to collect Cretaceous coprolites (fossil poop), fossil plant material,
coal, and cone-incone structures. Although cone-in-cone structures look like
fossils, they are actually a mineral formation created in clay deposits.
August
18 –
September 15 –
September
16-18 – The Jr. Geologists put in a
display case at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.
September
24 – Field trip for the Jr. Geologists
families to see the dinosaur tracks in Picket Wire Canyon south of La Junta
along the Purgatory River— probably the best dinosaur trackway in the US.
November
16 –
December
9-11 – Flatirons Mineral Club Annual Gem
& Mineral Show. Come and see what the vendors have to offer, do some
holiday shopping, exhibit the treasures you’ve collected, and look at model
trains. Come hear Pete Modreski talk
about Colorado diamonds on Sunday at 2, or sign up for Caren Johannes’
Beginning Wire Wrap class on Saturday at 1.
December
15 – The December Jr. Geologists meeting
was the club holiday party and gift exchange on December 15 at the Senior
Center.
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to Flatirons Mineral Club home
page
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Updated 1/9/12