Tellus
Museum
January 9, 2010
It has been a year since the Tellus Museum
has opened up to the public. Time for us to revisit the museum
and see what changes has occurred. We will meet at 10 a.m. in the
entrance. We will plan out our day, once all members show up. We
will try to see one of the planetarium shows and plan to have lunch in
the café. Call me if you are attending.
Heading North: I-75 to exit 293. At the end of the ramp, turn
left. Less than a half a mile on the left will be a Holiday Inn. Turn
between the Holiday Inn and the Citgo onto
Tellus Drive.
Tellus Drive
terminates in the museum parking lot.
Members
- Free
Adults - $12
Children (3 - 17) - $8
Student with ID - $8
Roxanne
Lopez
678-491-0489
Fernbank
Museum
of Natural Science
November
8th, 2009 - Noon to 3 pm.
"Pirate
Weekend and Gold"
Meet me and enjoy a
day of family-fun pirate-themed activities for kids including a Museum
Treasure Hunt, pirate name games, special prizes for kids dressed like
a pirate and more!
The Gold
Exhibit - Learn the fascinating story of the world’s most desired
metal—its natural beauty, unique scientific properties, and its
influence in shaping global history. We will also visit the Local
Connection Gallery, to learn more about Georgia’s own distinguished
history with gold. Call if you will join our group at noon in the
entrance to Fernbank. Call
678-491-0489 for a head count. $15 for adults, $14 for students and $13
for children ages 12 and under.
REPORT:
We met at the Fernbank for
the GOLD exhibit on November 8th. A group of five girls from the
Argyle Science Olympiad came and learn about gold and pyrite. They
learned the symbol for gold was Au and what was
their weight in gold. They oohed
and aahed at the gold necklaces and gold
bars and then visited the other exhibits. It was a perfect exhibit for
ladies who love pretty things.
Roxanne
Lopez
Junior
Chair
September
7, 2009
Monday,
Labor Day 9
A.M.
Stone
Mountain Park Walk-up Trail
Behind
Confederate Hall
Yes, we will be meeting on Monday, Labor
Day at the bottom of the entrance to the walk-up trail to Stone Mountain . The exact location is the back entrance
to the Stone Mountain Park Confederate Hall.
I will be sitting on some stone benches. Bill Waggoner will lead our
group half way up the mountain discussing the history and features of
the mountain. After that, you can stay for Geology Day from 12 pm
to 4 pm. The only cost is a parking fee of $10 at the entrance to
Stone Mountain . All ages are invited to come.
Bring good walking shoes and a water bottle. Call me if you will be
attending. 678-492-0489
July 11, 2009
- 11 A.M. Helen,
GA
Cool
River
Tubing - The Coolest
Ride in Town
590
Edelweiss Strasse, P.O. Box 817, Helen,
GA 30545
http://www.coolrivertubing.com/
It is time to
take our trip down the Hooch (the scenic Chattahoochee). Bring a
picnic dinner and plan to stay for the evening (weather permitting) to
go to Unicoi
State Park
for music. Some of the best musicians in the area perform a
variety of music, from Appalachian Mountain to bluegrass to Southern
gospel. "Pass-the-hat" donations. $5 parking. We can even walk up to
the Anna Ruby Falls.
Please give me a call if you are coming. It is a fun day for
everyone. Please join us.
Roxanne Lopez
678-491-0489
A
Day in a Miner’s Life
Saturday,
Jun 6, 2009
Peek
back at life in the 1830s with demonstrations on gold panning,
blacksmithing, shingle making, pioneer tools, candle making, folk toys,
spinning, pine needle basket making and more. $3.50-$5 for the
different activities. We will meet at the Town Center
at the Gold
Museum at 9
a.m.
Hills
of Iron - Red
Top Mountain Park
Saturday,
March 21, 2009
10
AM - 8 PM
We will meet at the Ranger station at 10 a.m. The event goes on all
day. The iron furnace is working in the evening hours. Bring a picnic
lunch and stay all day. Call me for the schedule closer to the date.
This is the information that Red Top
Mountain Park has put out so far.
Join us for the annual celebration of the iron industry that gave Red Top Mountain
its name. You can take a hayride tour of the iron mine area, pay a
visit to nearby Cooper's Furnace, and end the day by creating a piece
of unique iron artwork when we run our cupola furnace known as
"Maryanne." Fee for iron molds, plus $3 parking. 770-975-4226
Hills of Iron Field Trip
Sometimes, you
just miss something good. That was the junior trip on March
21. The weather was perfect. The speakers were
interesting. The trip to ochre mines at the nearby New Riverside
Ochre Company was fun. We even got to join Tom Batcha with an archeology group from Gwinnett to
visit an old furnace way, way off the beaten path. We collected
rock specimen and hundreds of tadpoles for our schools. And after
nearly a month, I still have mud on my tires. But, it was worth
it. Don’t miss the Hills of Iron Field celebration of the iron
industry next year at Red Top
Mountain
State Park.
We definitely got dirty and had fun
Juniors’ visit to the Tellus
Museum
January 17,
2009
The first Saturday that the Tellus was
opening January, the juniors went to check it out. We had members
of
the Argyle Olympiad team and other
teachers joining us. Jay and Sue Gorday
were kind enough to give our small group a tour of the
facilities. We were impressed. The displays were
top-notched. The kids were fascinated with the rocks, fossils,
and hands-on activities in the different exhibits. Any age will
benefit by visiting. Truly, they have thought this museum
carefully.
Cloudland
State Park
Saturday,
November 15, 2009
MARSQUEST:
EXPLORING THE RED PLANET
September 20, 2008 - Saturday 3:00
p.m.
Fernbank
Science
Center
156 Heaton Park
Drive N.E.
Atlanta,
GA
30307
678-874-7100
We have had a cultural and scientific
fascination with Mars for centuries. In this three-act presentation,
the Fernbank chronicles the history of
Mars, observe the planet in the night sky and with robotic explorers,
and guess at the future – perhaps humans living on Mars. Narrated by
Patrick Stewart. This program is for all ages. We have to
remember that other planets can help us understand our own. ADMISSION FOR PLANETARIUM
PROGRAMS* Adults $4.00 Students $3.00
Seniors $3.00. Please call me if you plan
to attend.
Junior Field Trip
July 19, 2008 -
Helen, GA
Tubing
down the Chattahoochee, Meet us at Cool
River Tubing in Helen, GA
at 11 am.
Every other year, we must make our way down this beautiful part of the Chattahoochee. Tubing is $5 per person (children
5 and under are free) and the water slide is an additional $5 per
person. Check out the website for the location.
http://www.coolrivertubing.com/main.asp
We
will discuss erosion and other related geological features of the area.
Luke, Keith, Bill, his granddaughter,
Alex and Roxanne Lopez
It
was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and the weather was warm when we
started out. The water level was low, so we made the short run
(that took 2 hours). Even though our goal was to learn about the
rocks and eroison, fun overtook us.
It is amazing what you can learn floating down a lazy river.
JUNIOR
FIELD TRIP SCHEDULE for 2007
Geology Hike
Sunday, May 20, 2007; 1:00 pm -3:00 pm
Sweetwater Creek State Park - Lithia Springs
There are
fun things to do every weekend in our state parks. I would like
to encourage any juniors and their families to join me on the Geology
hike at Sweetwater
Creek
State Park.
Call me if you are coming. Roxanne – 678-491-0489. Geologist and
Friends of Sweetwater
Creek State Park member, John
Johnston, will lead a moderate 2-mile hike identifying rock types and
explaining how and when they formed. There will also be a short visit
inside the impressive ruins of the Civil War era New Manchester mill
alongside the beautiful rapids of Sweetwater Creek. $1-$2 plus $3
parking. 770-732-5871 to contact the park ranger.
I
have also listed a great outing in June. It is to Providence Canyon
State Park.
It is one of my favorite places in Georgia
to take kids. I will be in Spain
from June 6 to July 25 so I will not be able to attend this one.
The next outing I will be attending will be August 4.
Geology and Art
Thursday, June 7, 2007; 1:00 pm -2:00 pm
Providence Canyon State Park - Lumpkin
Eastern Connecticut State University's Earth Science and Art professors
will show visitors the geologic formations of our canyons, the
different samples of soil that have been removed from beneath the
canyon floor, and techniques to capture these beautiful wonders in art.
$3 parking. 229-838-6202
Gold
Fever
Saturday, August , 20074; 9:00 am
-11:00 am
Smithgall Woods Conservation Area and Lodge - Helen
Gold mining is a fascinating part of the history of Smithgall Woods. Hear more about the history of
local gold mining, the geology of the area, see specimens of nuggets,
and watch a panning demonstration. Register in advance. $3 parking.
706-878-3087. Call the park ranger for
reservation on this outing.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Providence
Canyon State Park
Lumpkin,
GA
31815
There will be
another opportunity to see Providence
Canyon
this fall with an expert. There will be no Junior meeting in
September or October. I will be attending the November outing and
will have handouts for all who attend. Erosion in a grand scale
is shown here. I would encourage all family to make the journey
to visit this spectacular park. Providence Canyon
is one of the great geographic wonders of the eastern United States.
Join Professor Rich McWilliams of Thomas University
in Thomasville, Ga. for a closeup view of this most unusual state park. $3
parking. 229-838-6202. Drive time to this park about 40 miles south of Columbus, GA is about 3
hours. If you would like to carpool or follow me down to the
park, please give me a call.
Junior Section Field
Trip Reports:
September 1, 2007
At the field trip to the Blue Ridge
area near the old Hackney farms on September 1, we had a number of
juniors. The mountain (or hill) near the area is now named Staourite
Mountain
and the gates going into the new subdivision has a staourite
on them. Check out the group picture of some of the juniors with
the gate behind them. The juniors were able to find a good number
of pieces without much digging.
Junior
Outing Report for August:
August
4, 2007 - Saturday, 9 AM
Helen, GA
Gold Fever
Smithgall’s
Gold Fever
For last
month’s junior outing we went to the Smithgall State
Park near Helen,
GA. They were
presenting a Gold Fever morning at the Martin Mine area. The
Rangers and a local resident provided slides of the local area in the
1800’s and discussed the methods of gold mining that was done in the
time. Then we all piled into one of their vans and they took us
to the Martin Mine. It is very nice that the state park system
provides these type of activities free to
visitors. We only had to pay $3 for parking. I do commend
checking out the park website for further activities.
Roxanne Lopez
Junior Chair
February 24, 2007
Consolidated Gold Mines
http://www.consolidatedgoldmine.com/aboutus.asp?ID=8
185 Consolidated Gold Mine Rd, Dahlonega,
GA 30533
706-864-8473
Consolidated Gold Mines offer underground tours
of a hardrock gold mine and gold
panning. It is $11 per adult and $7 per junior. The tours
of the mine as it appeared at the “turn of the century” include:
- Displays and
discussion of the actual equipment being used at the turn of the
century.
- Introduction
to the geology of the gold belt including the quartz and pyrite
formation which early miners were working at the turn of the century.
- Walk
through the massive tunnel network, complete with the original track
system.
- Discussion
of engineering and mining techniques utilized by the early miners.
- FREE Sampler Pan
included with each paid tour admission!
Angela Atrchin,
Alex Lopez, Chris Watson, and Dontae Russo
in front of the mine.
Walk through the massive tunnel
network.
Panning
for gold with a tour guide – Alex Lopez and Dontae
Russo
September 24, 2006
Stone Mountain Confederate Hall Parking Lot
On
September 24, all juniors and parents who would like to see the new
exhibit on the Geology of Stone Mountain
should meet Julian Gray and me at the Stone Mountain Confederate Hall
Parking Lot at the base of the walkup
trail at 2 pm (rain or sunshine). The exhibit has been up for
about a year and is a very nice exhibit. I will have handouts for
the juniors to build their own three-dimensional mountain. If the
weather is good, Julian will lead us up the mountain pointing out
features of this unusual monolith.
Last
month, Julian Gray led the juniors up Stone Mountain part of the way and
pointed out many features. We were able to see the new Geology
Exhibit at Confederate Hall. The daisies were in full
bloom. We had even luck with the weather. The rain poured
before we met and after we left. Here are a couple of pictures of our
outing in September. Please join us in November if you can.
Rafting on the Upper Chattahoochee
An unidentified visitor, Bill Waggener, Alex Lopez and
Chris Lopez at the rafting headquarters in Helen, GA.
(photo courtesy of Roxanne Lopez)
August, 2005
Junior Section Field Trip to Helen, GA and Rafting on the Upper
Chattahoochee. The group of intrepid explorers went
several times down the Chattahoochee River in Helen, GA, at the last
Junior’s field trip on August 14, 2005. This guide managed the trip
only once, the last time. We observed first-hand metamorphic
rocks in situ and wet and shiny. The group also felt them in the rafts
as we floated down-river. (They are harder than the human derriere.)
All in all, the trip was small and successful.
Please join us for the next Junior Section Field Trip.
Bill Waggener, Field Trip Guide
Feb 2005, Walking Geology Tour of Downtown Atlanta
"Crystal
Field Trip"
Harry Vasdias (center, on his knees) showing our
Junior GMS members how to find clear quartz crystals south of Atlanta, GA
on July 10, 2004. (Photograph by RoxanneLopez)
The juniors went to
the Burra
Burra
Mine Museum and collected
garnets. Everyone left with a bag full. If you are a
junior, try not to miss the next meeting/outing. You will learn alot, and have fun, too.
[Field trip to the Ducktown Basin and Museum Burra Burra Mine]
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Katie Boyer, Alex Lopez, Kyle Boyer,
and Brinson Prince.
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Alex Lopez
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