Please bring your favorite rocks and gems for MudPies & Butterflies First Rock & Gem Fair. As with the Bug Faire, kids can display their collections. Through out our day, everyone who wants to, can share the reason why items in their collection (or one favorite specimen) is so special or just different from other rocks.
My girls and I will try to create a Giant Guessing Game to have fun remembering characteristics of stones and find their favorites. Bring your handheld Microscopes if you have them.
Due to the kindness, of one family, we will get a chance to smash open some roundish rocks called Geodes in order to reveal their treasures inside! We don’t have enough for each person, but thanks to M&B Mom Victoria, groups will be able to work together to open up some geodes. (Email me if your family has some they can share!) I have a dozen safety goggles for kids, as they will take turns wearing them. But bring any extra pairs of Safety goggles if you have them.
Start today by growing some crystals and get an idea of how certain Rocks and Gems are made deep in the earths surface. We will make some Epsom salt crystals at the park, as that will work the fastest. Sugar works too, but takes longer – but tastes better.
…I am also hoping to find and dust off my spectrometer to help everyone who brings a rock, crystal or gem to determine the hardness of each stone or gem you bring. A Spectrometer sends a beam of light into an object. If it’s translucent or transparent, the light will pass through the object and depending on how little light touches the back wall – the machine tells you exactly how dense the object is. THis is one of the tools that experts use to determine if a gemstone is real or a fake. So owners of fine gems are encouraged to bring a few baubles of different stones and semi-precious stones to prove if they have been substituted by Cat Burglars and Jewel thieves.
Woodland Hills Rock Chippers plans field trips, shows and other activities for kids and families interested in the Lapidary Arts