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Prez Says...

by Dan Teich, MSDC President

Welcome back to a new season of MSDC! We are still meeting remotely, but will have a social in October, with details to be emailed to members shortly. Getting together in person is always awesome and I encourage all members to attend. 

Thomas Hale will make a return visit as our presenter on September 3. His topics are a perfect blend of geology, mineralogy, science, and geopolitics. He is able to show how minerals make the world go round – from mining, to usage, with all the steps in-between. 

In November, MSDC will have a table at the Northern Virginia Mineral Club's 33rd Annual Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show at George Mason University on November 22 and 23. We will have member-donated minerals, fossils, and gems for sale to help raise funds for our club’s scholarships and annual gift to the Smithsonian.

MSDC's table at the 2024 NVMC's show at George Mason University. Pictured are Ken Rock (left), Andrea Lubawy (center) and Dan Teich (right).
Please consider donating minerals to support the club. Any funds we raise will be used to support that club's scholarships to GMU geology students and our annual donation to the Smithsonian's Department of Mineral Sciences. If you have minerals to donate, please contact me as soon as possible (msdcdan@gmail.com) to discuss logistics or to arrange a pickup.

We also will need volunteers to help at the table during the show and to help with transport of materials to the show. If you help at our table, you will have an opportunity to discuss our club with attendees, introduce them to MSDC, and invite them to join, as well. I highly encourage you to attend the show, support our club, and NVMC, too!

Over the summer I started to curate my own collections more thoroughly. Channeling Marie Kondo, I asked, “Does this mineral bring me joy?” Five cartons of minerals have left the collection, many donated to the MSDC fundraiser. Several boxes have been mailed to younger mineral collectors (aka kids), helping to spark the joy of mineralogy and rock-hunting in them! Remember, kids are the future of the hobby! 

Next month I’ll feature a few new additions to my collection. Why do you think I curated and pared down some? To add more!

Here’s a new addition to my collection. Although not from New Jersey, I could not resist! Native copper sheets in transparent chalcedony from Obi Island, Indonesia. I’ve never seen anything like it. Small, but amazing! Photo by Dan Teich.