All events are at the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Free Rock Painting (Kids Under 12)
Children under 12 can paint a rock for free! Come express your creative side and take home your own painted rock! Saturday & Sunday all day, outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
One rock per child per day, supplies are limited.
Demo: Cabochon Making
Watch beautiful cabochons being made from rough rock before your eyes! Offered by Les Postlethwait, SCRAGS club member.
Saturday and Sunday all day.
Next to the Wheel of Fortune.
Field Trip #2: Hatch, NM
Gather at the front of the Fair Barn to depart for our rockhounding field trip to SCRAGS’ claim near Hatch, NM.
You will be able to collect barite, calcite, quartz, other beautiful rocks and minerals, and fossils.
There are petroglyphs a short drive away.
Field Trip #1: Candy Rhyolite in Truth or Consequences
Collect beautiful candy rhyolite from Jason Brousseau of New Mexico Stone Supply’s claim in Truth or Consequences.
Thank you Jason for allowing us to collect on your claim!
Sapphire and Garnet Panning
Screen for Montana sapphires or garnets! The sapphire-bearing gravel was mined in the Rock Creek mining district of Granite County, Montana.
An expert screener (“panner”) will pre-wash your sample – then the fun begins – you search the pile for these precious gems.
$5 per bag.
Please note that sapphire quantities are limited.
Outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Presentation: Egg Carton Mineral Collecting for Kids 5 and Up
Egg cartons and rocks: what do they have in common? Kids: come start your mineral collection! Decorate your egg carton and learn how to fill it with amazing rocks you find! Choose 2 rocks to take home! All supplies provided.
No unattended children, please.
Presented by SCRAGS member Susan Postlethwait.
Gold Panning
Pan for simulated gold for free! Sponsored by the New Mexico Goldminers Association.
You can also purchase panning sand with genuine gold from the NMGA! Visit their booth to learn more about gold panning from local experts and purchase equipment for your new favorite hobby.
Outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Presentation: Excavating an Ancient Arizona “Elephant”
Paleontologist Rose Fowers will present a slide show of the excavation of a Mastodon in Arizona in the 1990s.
Rose participated in the dig and will share her experience of the “uncovering” of this rare specimen.
Rose is a founding member of the Southwest Paleontological Society that is affiliated with the Arizona Museum of Natural History.
She was appointed as an Adjunct Curator in paleontology with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History.
She is now retired and lives in southern New Mexico with her husband and lots of rocks.
Presentation: Jasperoid in Sierra County, New Mexico
Sierra County hosts numerous occurrences of gemstone-quality jasperoid.
This talk explores the geologic processes that formed these intriguing and colorful rocks.
Bruce Cox is a geologist that hails from Montana and spends winters in T or C.
Gold Panning
Pan for simulated gold for free! Sponsored by the New Mexico Goldminers Association.
You can also purchase panning sand with genuine gold from the NMGA! Visit their booth to learn more about gold panning from local experts and purchase equipment for your new favorite hobby.
Outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Free Rock Painting (Kids Under 12)
Children under 12 can paint a rock for free! Come express your creative side and take home your own painted rock! Saturday & Sunday all day, outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
One rock per child per day, supplies are limited.
Demo: Cabochon Making
Watch beautiful cabochons being made from rough rock before your eyes! Offered by Les Postlethwait, SCRAGS club member.
Saturday and Sunday all day.
Next to the Wheel of Fortune.
Presentation: Power Crystals for Protection and Positive Energy
This talk will address the following questions: What are Protection Stones? How do Protection Stones Work? How do you use Protection Stones? Cheryl Gott is proprietor of Natural Healing Stones, a vendor at our event.
Field Trip #1: Candy Rhyolite in Truth or Consequences
Collect beautiful candy rhyolite from Jason Brousseau of New Mexico Stone Supply’s claim in Truth or Consequences.
Field Trip #2: Hatch, NM
Gather at the front of the Fair Barn to depart for our rockhounding field trip to SCRAGS’ claim near Hatch, NM.
You will be able to collect barite, calcite, quartz, other beautiful rocks and minerals, and fossils.
There are petroglyphs a short drive away.
Presentation: Orbicular Granite in New Mexico
Orbicular rocks are igneous rocks that contain concentric spheres.
They are found across the world in all types of underground-cooled igneous (plutonic) rocks, but in such small quantities that they are considered rare.
New Mexico has small occurrences in the Sandia Mountains and in the Zuni Mountains.
This presentation will show the characteristics of the rocks, how they are formed, and the differences between the two types.
The talk is aimed at an audience with a minimal knowledge of geology.
Joan Karrie has a degree in Geology and is a member of the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Society.
Sapphire and Garnet Panning
Screen for Montana sapphires or garnets! The sapphire-bearing gravel was mined in the Rock Creek mining district of Granite County, Montana.
An expert screener (“panner”) will pre-wash your sample – then the fun begins – you search the pile for these precious gems.
$5 per bag.
Please note that sapphire quantities are limited.
Outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Presentation: Egg Carton Mineral Collecting for Kids 5 and Up
Egg cartons and rocks: what do they have in common? Kids: come start your mineral collection! Decorate your egg carton and learn how to fill it with amazing rocks you find! Choose 2 rocks to take home! All supplies provided.
No unattended children please.
Presented by SCRAGS member Susan Postlethwait.
Presentation: History of Traditional Santo Domingo Pueblo Handmade Jewelry and Flint Knapping (tentative)
Speaker: Harvey Abeyta, Santo Domingo Pueblo Artist.
No photography or video will be allowed during this presentation.
