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Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society 60th annual show

 The Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society’s 60th Annual Show is scheduled for Feb. 23-24 at the Trade Mart on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson.
    Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24. Admission is $6 for adults and $3 for students. Scouts and Scout leaders in uniform get $2 admission. Children 5 and younger get in free.
    MGMS Show Chair Carol Ishee said, “We have something for all ages and a variety of interests. It’s family oriented. It’s fun and educational.”
    The show features museum displays, hands-on craft and learning activities for children and a shopping bonanza of fossils, gems, minerals, geodes, beads, cabs, slabs, specimens, carvings, books and lapidary tools. Fine jewelry and custom made pieces are available. A wide range of beads and jewelry elements will be on sale. About two dozen vendors from around the country are expected to sell at the show. They range from the Petrified Forest from Flora to the Geode Gallery of Davenport, Iowa.
    The Artifact Shack from Sylvarena, Mississippi, near Bay Springs, will return for the third year at the show. Owner Jeff McCraw has spent a lifetime collecting Native American artifacts and fossils. The collection outgrew his house and became a small museum.
    Flint knapping enthusiasts will show how primitive peoples created arrowheads and other stone tools. Jewelry artists will demonstrate techniques in beading, wire wrapping, gem faceting, cabochon making and other stone work throughout the show.
    It’s a family-friendly show with plenty of interesting activities for kids. Gem tree making allows children to use their creativity. The “touch and see” table is a large collection of Mississippi rocks and minerals as well as specimens from around the country for everyone to examine.
    People with an interest in archaeology, geology and paleontology will have an opportunity to talk with professionals and students in those disciplines. Educational displays will include fossils from the collection of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, artifacts collected by members of the Mississippi Archaeology Association, and Native American tools from MGMS members’ collections. Special exhibits are provided by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi and the University of Southern Mississippi.
    For more information, call MGMS Show Chair Carol Ishee at 601-497-2938 or e-mail izzie1259@aol.com.
    The Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society, founded in 1957, promotes knowledge and enjoyment of activities related to the earth sciences. MGMS members include amateurs and professionals with a wide range of earth science and artistic interests. To learn more about the gem and mineral show, or about MGMS membership, visit the web site at www.missgems.org.
Feb-23-2019 - Feb-24-2019 All day