Earth Science Club of Northern Illinois

Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #36: Purple Fluorite from Cave-in-Rock, IL

Here’s yet another beautiful chunk of fluorite from Illinois. This one is purple and was collected from Cave-in-Rock, IL. many years ago. Come and see it tomorrow… less than a day away!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #36: Purple Fluorite from Cave-in-Rock, IL
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #35: Priscacara, sp. from the Green River Formation in Wyoming

What fossil show is complete without a Green River fish? Here is a nice Priscacara, sp. These fish date to the Eocene, about 50 million years ago. We have other Green River fish, come on out and see them!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #35: Priscacara, sp. from the Green River Formation in Wyoming
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #34: Giant Moroccan Trilobite

How about a giant Moroccan trilobite for something different? Come on out… we will have other trilobites at the show.
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #34: Giant Moroccan Trilobite
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #33: Laveineopteris rarinervis from Mazon Creek

This is a beautiful specimen of Laveineopteris rarinervis (see Mazon Monday #81) a seed fern commonly found in the Mazon Creek fossil deposit. Come on out and check it out tomorrow!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #33: Laveineopteris rarinervis from Mazon Creek
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #32: Calcite from Ourey, Colorado

Time for another beautiful mineral specimen. This is calcite from Ourey, Colorado. Come on out tomorrow… there is something for everyone!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #32: Calcite from Ourey, Colorado
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #30: Mazon Creek Achistrum, sp. Colony

Another Mazon Creek beauty… this is a nice Achistrum, sp. colony, which is a sea cucumber. You can see at least three mouths in the fossil. See Mazon Monday #29. Come on out and see for yourself, tomorrow, yes, tomorrow! Less than a day away!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #30: Mazon Creek Achistrum, sp. Colony
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #31: Crinoid Plate from the Bangor Formation in Northern Alabama

Another crinoid plate from the Bangor Formation in Northern Alabama. This plate has multiple crinoids and other fossils like Archimedes bryozoans. Tomorrow is the day!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #31: Crinoid Plate from the Bangor Formation in Northern Alabama
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #29: Crystalline Copper from Southwest Africa

This chunk of crystalline copper is from southwest Africa. Tomorrow is the day!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #29: Crystalline Copper from Southwest Africa
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show, Mazon Creek

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #28: Coelocanth Scale from Pit 11

Here’s beautiful example of a Coelocanth scale Mazon Creek’s Pit 11 locality. Look closely, the preservation is very detailed. Did we mention the tomorrow is the show… see you there!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #28: Coelocanth Scale from Pit 11
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #27: Rare Wisconsin Jellyfish from Marathon County, Wisconsin

Jellyfish, which have no hard parts, are very rare in the fossil record. This species Hiemalora stellaris was found in the Cambrian rocks of the Blackberry Hill Deposit of Marathon County, Wisconsin. Come on out tomorrow and it can be yours!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #27: Rare Wisconsin Jellyfish from Marathon County, Wisconsin
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #26: Azurite from the Daye District, Ezhou Prefecture, Hubei Province, China

What a beautiful blue! The specimen of Azurite hails from the Daye District, Ezhou Prefecture, Hubei Province, China. Less than a day until the door open!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #26: Azurite from the Daye District, Ezhou Prefecture, Hubei Province, China
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show, Mazon Creek

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #25: Calomostachys Cone

We have a bunch of Mazon Creek fossils this year… here’s another nice cone – Calomostachys, sp. One day away from the show… are you coming?!?
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #25: Calomostachys Cone
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #24: Yellow Fluorite from Hardin County, IL

We have some real nice pieces of fluorite for this year’s show. Here is a beautiful yellow specimen from Hardin County, IL. Tomorrow is the day… come on out!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #24: Yellow Fluorite from Hardin County, IL
Fossil Friday, Mazon Creek

Fossil Friday #309: Acanthotelson stimpsoni

Today, we have a cute little Acanthotelson stimpsoni (see Mazon Monday #52) from the Mazon River. Acanthotelson stimpsoni is a syncarid shrimp. It’s the most common shrimp found in the Braidwood fauna.
Read more: Fossil Friday #309: Acanthotelson stimpsoni
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #23: Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri terminal pinnule

Preview 23 is a nice terminal end of a Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri from Mazon Creek. To learn more see Mazon Monday #39. Saturday will be here before you know it…
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #23: Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri terminal pinnule
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #22: Valentinite after Stibnite on Barite

How about this beautiful specimen of Valentinite after Stibnite on Barite? It was collected from the Xikuangsthan Mine in Lengshuijiang, Hunan Province, China. Come on out and see it close up in less than 2 days!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #22: Valentinite after Stibnite on Barite
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #21: Thalassina anomala from Gunn Point, N. T., Australia

The next preview is a fossil mangrove lobster, Thalassina anomala, from Gunn Point, N. T., Australia. This is a very detailed fossil with superb preparation. Come on out and check it out at the show… less than 2 days away!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #21: Thalassina anomala from Gunn Point, N. T., Australia
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #20: Pieces of Mexican Opal

Mexican opal is very beautiful and we have a small collection of pieces here for this preview. Just 2 days left… Hope to see you!
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #20: Pieces of Mexican Opal
ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show, Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday #309: ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 1992

ESCONI has been holding a show in the spring since about 1960. In the mid 1970’s, it became the Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show. Before that, there was the Indoor Field Trip hosted by the Paleontology Study Group. Today, we are looking back 30 years to the 1992 show. The show was held on March 7th and 8th, 1992 in the old College of DuPage Building K. Meetings were also in Building K for a long time. Floyd Rogers was President of ESCONI.
Read more: Throwback Thursday #309: ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show for 1992
Calendar of Events, ESCONI Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show

2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #19: Fluorite and Sphalerite

We have multiple pieces of beautiful fluorite for this years show. This is one of the best… it has large crystals of fluorite resting on sphalerite. Have I mentioned we are just a few days away from this year’s show?!?
Read more: 2026 ESCONI Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show – Preview #19: Fluorite and Sphalerite

Friday, April 10th	General Meeting – 8:00 PM via Zoom. Jessica Hull will present “Life in the Devonian Period, The Age of Fishes.”
Saturday, April 11th	Junior Study Group Meeting – 2:00 PM, in person at the College of DuPage Technical Education Center (TEC) Building – Room 1038A (Map). Katherine Howard will present on Sand and Sediment Collecting. Specifics of this meeting are available from Scott Galloway, 630-670-2591, gallowayscottf@gmail.com.
Saturday, April 18th	Paleontology Study Group – 7:30 PM via Zoom and in person at the College of DuPage, TEC, Room 1038B (Map). Keith Robitschek will present “Digging the Marl of the Lance Formation.”
No meeting this month	Mineralogy Study Group
No meeting this month	Junior Study Group

Most Recent Post