Our monthly meetings are a great opportunity to connect with fellow enthusiasts, learn from expert speakers, and stay up-to-date on club news and events. Held from September through June, these gatherings are perfect for sharing your passion for minerals, fossils, and all things Earth science. Whether you’re a long-time member or new to the club, we welcome you to join us!
Not a member but still interested? Feel free to attend a meeting! Just send a quick email to the president a few days before, and you’re all set!
Upcoming Events
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Our April meeting speaker, Ryan Klockner, will explore the often-overlooked world of mineral cataloging. He’ll discuss common reasons collectors avoid it, why it’s essential for both personal enjoyment and long-term value, and some of the most effective tactics used by fellow collectors. He’ll also share his own process for cataloging, which culminates in using Geology365.com, a digital platform that was built to make collection management easier and more powerful. Ryan will finish his presentation with a live walkthrough of Geology365 and highlight features that can help you take control of your collection—whether you have 20 specimens or 2,000.
Past Events
Tuesday, March 20, 2025
Our March meeting speaker, Larry Bull, will talk about mineral environments. Why did certain minerals form in certain places? What does it tell us when we can find them in certain places? A primer on mineral environments, starting with Pearl Lake, NH. Larry will bring specimens for viewing and sale.
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
Bob Hill will deliver a presentation on “The 2024 Prineville, OR Rockhound Pow Wow and Other Great Oregon Rockhounding Sites.” Bob plans to talk a little about the Prineville show, but mostly about the field trips associated with the show, which are the main reason he attends the event. The field trips are typically to ranch sites that aren’t generally open for digging, particularly to the public. He’ll also mention a few other great rockhounding sites in central Oregon, such as the Glass Buttes (for amazing obsidian), and he plans to bring some thundereggs, petrified wood, and obsidian as examples of the types of materials available at the sites.
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Brag Night
Come join this fun and friendly competition where members showcase their best self-collected or self-made specimens, fossils, and creations from the past year. Awards are given in a variety of categories, including “Best of” by state, lapidary and jewelry items, fossils, and even the ugliest specimen! Junior members have their own categories too.
Only members are allowed to submit specimens, and participation requires in-person attendance, but anyone is welcome to come to this meeting.
Click for full details and rules
Participation Rules:
- You must attend in person to participate.
- All specimens submitted must be self-collected or self-made (Except for the best Traded/Bought category) during the calendar year 2024.
- Self-collected includes specimens collected in conjunction with others but excludes those traded, purchased, or obtained from illegal sites.
- Each participant may enter only one specimen per category, and each specimen may be entered in only one category (except for the Best Overall Specimen).
Specimen Label Requirements:
For each specimen entered, provide a label with the following information:
- Category title (at the top).
- Specimen name.
- Specimen location.
- Date collected.
- Your name (on the back).
Award Categories
Best Of…
- Massachusetts
- Connecticut
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Maine
- New York
- Elsewhere in the U.S.
- Outside the U.S.
- Faceted Stone (self-made)
- Lapidary Item (self-made)
- Jewelry Item (self-made)
- Fossil (from anywhere)
- Ugliest Specimen (any size)
- Herkimer Diamond
- Purchased or Traded Specimen (excluded from Best Overall)
- Thumbnail Specimen
- Micromount Specimen
Junior Categories (under 18)
- Any Size Specimen (other than thumbnail) from any location.
- Fossil (from anywhere).
- Thumbnail Specimen.
Best Overall Specimen
This award is determined by a final vote among all the winning specimens from the self-collected categories. Participants cast their votes for their favorite among these top entries, and the specimen with the most votes is the winner.
Note: Each participant may submit only one specimen per category, and no specimen may be entered in multiple categories, except for the Best Overall Specimen category.