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Michigan Mineralogical Society
Michigan Mineralogical Society
School Day
OUR 2026 SHOW IS ON! Theme: "The Quest for Quartz"
Dear Teachers:
TEACHERS, STUDENTS, AND PARENTS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE SHOW FOR A WONDERFUL LEARNING EXPERIENCE!
SET YOUR SIGHTS ON EARTH SCIENCE WEEK - October 13 - 19th, 2024
Bring your class on a field trip to see and learn about amazing minerals & fossils! It's the 79th Greater Detroit Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show, presented by the Michigan Mineralogical Society and sponsored by Cranbrook Institute of Science.
Features:
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Discounted rates for students.
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STEM & Michigan Science Standards related activities
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Vendors offering a wide variety of gems, minerals, and fossils for purchase
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Talks by “Paleo Joe” Kchodl, famous Michigan paleontologist and author
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Experts speaking on earth science related topics.
Activities:
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Bring in your own specimens for identification
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Gold panning, fossil dig, and crack your own geode (small fee for dig and geode)
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Purchase a $1 grab bag filled with minerals and fossil specimens
School Day Registration Form (PDF)
Earth Science Week
A national event sponsored in Michigan by MMS. A great place for classroom activities, events, theme-based resources, geoscience careers, teachers toolkits and classroom activities. Also note that they have a theme based national contest in several categories, open to all students.
Mineral links & Field Trip Ideas for educators
Click on the Image to download the Book in PDF format.
Illustrated Instructional Book - The World of Minerals & Crystals ABC's
A is for agate, T is for Tourmaline, and Z is for Zincite. Have fun looking at these illustrations, coloring some in or use this a resource to teach kids about minerals from A to Z. Diamond Dan Publishing in conjunction with the Michigan Mineralogical Society and the Cranbrook Institute of Science is happy to provide you with this booklet. Use it in your classroom or at home.
Minerals Education Coalition
The Minerals Education Coalition (MEC) is the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Foundation’s designated program to develop and deliver accurate and timely K-12 education materials and activities and conduct public awareness outreach about mining and minerals. The MEC is the successor entity of the Mineral Information Institute (Mii) which was merged with SME as of November 1, 2008, and SME’s Government, Education and Mining (GEM) program.
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GIA
The Gemological Institute of America, Inc. is an excellent website filled with facts, interesting pictures and maps of the locations of gemstones and minerals from all over the world. They also feature a Gemkids section that is great for kids of all ages.
Minerals.net
A Complete Guide to Rocks, Minerals and the Gemstone Kingdoms! The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom is a free informational and educational guide to rocks, minerals, gemstones, and jewelry. This site has been providing detailed information and photos of hundreds of minerals and gemstones since 1997 and is one of the leading educational resources on minerals and gemstones.
The Science Olympiad for Rocks and Minerals
Educator-approved website on the Science Olympiad materials, rules and regulations, more links, and the training manuals for any interested in studying the Geology related materials of the Science Olympiad.
Cranbrook Institute of Science Mineral Study Gallery
Cranbrook founder George Booth started this mineral collection in 1926 with only a few hundred specimens. Since then, it has grown to more than 11,000 specimens, including 300 minerals from Michigan, such as gypsum, copper, and halite (that’s table salt!). Right now, there are approximately 1,800 specimens on view in the Mineral Study Gallery. A fantastic place to go visit anytime with anyone!
The Wayne State Geology Mineral Museum
For the first time, the exceptional collection of minerals and other geological specimens collected by and donated to the Department of Geology will be on public display. Old Main room 0205 has been outfitted to showcase the most valuable and interesting minerals, fossils and mining artifacts in the collection. David Lowrie, the curator and MMS Director of the collection and long-time ASO in the Geology Department, has selected a remarkable collection of specimens including rare minerals collected from all over the world, large and beautiful crystals, and samples from Thomas Edison's personal collection. Each item has a story. The Wayne State Geology Mineral Museum will be open to the public from 5 - 7 p.m. every Friday throughout June. Operating hours will be extended in the fall.
One of the several cases of gems and minerals in Wayne State's Geology Mineral Museum from their website.
The Wayne State Geology History and Virtual Tour
There is an article in the 2017 Nov/Dec Issue of the Rocks and Mineral Magazine introducing the new Geology, Mineral Museum at Wayne State University. It opened on May 19, 2017. Davis Lowrie has been the curator of the collection since 1964. That's 54 years of service! During that time the superb collection of minerals was locked in metal cabinets for security. Also during that time, Dave displayed various specimens from the collection at over 200 Gem and Mineral Shows to give some exposure to the collection. Here is a chance to see some of them right from the comfort of your screen. Click on the Museum picture (above) to go to the website.
A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum
The A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, the official Mineral Museum of Michigan, is home to its own nationally and internationally recognized mineral collection and to the University of Michigan mineral collection, co-owned by the museum and the University of Michigan. These two collections of approximately 50,000 mineral specimens were originally assembled in the late 1700s. The collections are housed in a high-quality, dedicated building on the campus of Michigan Technological University.
Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art is located in suburban Chicago. The Lizzadro Museum displays gemstone treasures, antiques to modern, with a blending of earth science exhibits. Check out this Rockhounds's Quiz - perfect to learn about Earth Sciences with links to other quizzes. Click https://lizzadromuseum.org/rhq-200/
Every Rock Has a Story
Boston College Professor Ethan Baxter is endorsed by the Mineralogical Society of America and has over 40 videos that detail how "Every Rock has a Story". In his numerous videos, he discussed multiple geological and mineralogical subjects from 'Apatites to Volcanoes' and just about every letter in-between. Click here to see them all.
The University of Arizona Mineral Teaching Resources
Discover how gold allows us to play video games, how the softest mineral on earth is used in makeup, learn a new recipe, and more in "Minerals Make It!, a YouTube series by the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources. These short educational videos are presented in an easy to understand manner to help your students discover how minerals are used in their everyday lives. Subscribe to our channel for updates when new videos are posted. Click the Arizona Icon to go there.
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