More than 1,000 school children from Wichita and surrounding communities will attend Education Day Friday at the 59th annual Wichita Gem & Mineral Show at theCessna Activity Center, 2744 George Washington Blvd.
Starting at 9 a. m. Friday school children will have the opportunity to learn rock and mineral identification techniques at a special classroom laboratory. Students will actually identify eight specimens through techniques leaned.
Students will also have full access to the demonstrations and exhibits at the event being sponsored by the Wichita Gem & Mineral Society, Inc.
The Wichita Gem & Mineral Show will run for three days: Friday from 9 a. m. to 7 p. m.; Saturday 10 a. m. 7 p. m., and Sunday 10 a. m. to 5 p. m. Admission, other than those enrolled for Education Day, will be $5 for adults, $1 for ages 12 through 17, and children under 12 free.
The gem and mineral show will feature gemstones, natural stone jewelry, minerals, crystals, beads, agates, polished stones, meteorites and fossils. There will be exhibits, demonstrations and dealers.
Activities for children at this family-friendly event include the junior rock pile, gem hunt, gem wheel and grab bags.
The show theme of “Rocky Mountain Minerals” will be highlighted in special exhibits and two programs. “Inside the Majestic Rocky Mountains” will be presented Saturday at 11 a. m. by Dr. Jerry Simmons of Barclay College, Haviland, KS. Sunday Mike Wingo of Newton, KS, will report on “Dinosaurs of the Rockies.”
Proceeds for this event will help support an endowed scholarship in the Geology Department of Wichita State University.
