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 inside to learn more about gold panning from local experts and purchase equipment for your new favorite hobby.
Outside the rear doors of the Fair Barn
Wire Wrapping/Weaving Demonstration
Watch an expert jeweler demonstrate wire wrapping or weaving of beautiful stones for jewelry. Trina of Trina’s Rock Shop in Deming, NM will create beauty before your eyes! At the rear of the Fair Barn.
Field Trip
Gather at the front of the fair barn to depart for our rockhounding field trip to SCRAGS’ claim near Hatch, NM.
Find more details here.
Presentation: What’s Going on Beneath Your Feet? Ore Deposits and Hot Springs in the Rio Grande Rift
Speaker: Dr. Virgil Leuth, Senior Mineralogist Emeritus, former Director, New Mexico Bureau of Geology Mineral Museum in Socorro, NM
Sapphire Panning
Pan for Montana sapphires!
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. Sapphire quantities are limited.
Outside the rear doors of the Fair Barn
CANCELED Presentation: Fossils of Southwest New Mexico
We regret that this presentation has been canceled due to health issues.
NEW Presentation: River Diving in the Deep South: Agatized Coral and Mammal Fossils
Speaker: Rick Schwartz
Rick is a hobbyist collector of gorgeous minerals and fossils off the Florida Coast.
Presentation: How Do We Know? An Exploration Geologist’s Path for Mineral Identification Methods from Field to Laboratory
Speaker: Michael Eatough
Mike is retired geologist/physicist with over 35 years experience with X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and optical mineralogy.
Sapphire Panning
Pan for Montana sapphires!
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. Sapphire quantities are limited.
Outside the rear doors of the Fair Barn
Field Trip
Gather at the front of the fair barn to depart for our rockhounding field trip to SCRAGS’ claim near Hatch, NM.
Find more details here.
Presentation: Fluorescent Minerals of Southwest New Mexico
Speaker: Bruce Cox
Bruce is a mineral exploration geologist working in the western US for over 50 years. He began collecting fluorescent minerals in the 1960s; his collection emphasizes UV minerals from the Appalachian Mountains, Rocky Mountains and the desert Southwest.
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 inside to learn more about gold panning from local experts and purchase equipment for your new favorite hobby.
Outside the rear doors of the Fair Barn
Wire Wrapping/Weaving Demonstration
Watch an expert jeweler demonstrate wire wrapping or weaving of beautiful stones for jewelry. Trina of Trina’s Rock Shop in Deming, NM will create beauty before your eyes! At the rear of the Fair Barn.
Presentation: How Do We Know? (Part 2): An Introduction to Scientific Methods for Identification of Minerals and Their Crystal Structure
Speaker: Michael Eatough
Mike is retired geologist/physicist with over 35 years experience with X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and optical mineralogy.
