Tag: rocks
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2026 ESCONI Rock, Mineral and Fossil Swap and Sale – August 15, 2026 at College of DuPage
ESCONI is sponsoring a rock swap and sale event on August 15, 2026 at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn. The location is Parking Lot 4, south of the Health and Science Building, and adjacent to the prairie.
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Reminder: Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society’s Annual Silent Auction, Saturday, March 14, 2026
Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society’s Annual Silent Auction Saturday, March 14, 2026 6 to 9 p.m. St. Peter’s United Church of Christ 8013 Laramie Ave., Skokie, IL (Across the street from the public library on Oakton) Plus a special live auction of high-end specimens during the last half-hour! The first table closes at 6:30 p.m.…
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Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society’s Annual Silent Auction, Saturday, March 14, 2026
Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society’s Annual Silent Auction Saturday, March 14, 2026 6 to 9 p.m. St. Peter’s United Church of Christ 8013 Laramie Ave., Skokie, IL (Across the street from the public library on Oakton) Plus a special live auction of high-end specimens during the last half-hour! The first table closes at 6:30 p.m.…
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Northwest Illinois Rock Club’s 2025 Jewelry, Gem, Fossil, and Mineral Show – November 8th and 9th, 2025
It you’re up near Freeport, IL the weekend of November 8th and 9th, 2025. This looks like a good time! More information on their Facebook page.
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Throwback Thursday #287: Cafe ESCONI Menu
Unfortunately, we don’t have a year for this story. It was probably in the early 1990s. If anyone remembers when the display first appeared, please send it to esconi.info@gmail.com. Sylvia Josefek and her husband Paul were very active in ESCONI during 1980s and 1990s. Paul was Treasurer from 1985 until 1990, while Sylvia was interested…
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Throwback Thursday #286: A Rock Is a Rock…
This is Throwback Thursday #286. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! email:esconi.info@gmail.com. The following piece appeared in the September 1966 edition of the ESCONI newsletter. The attribution is from “Rock…
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Throwback Thursday #244: Leaverite (Leaveitite)
This is Throwback Thursday #244. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Beginners may hear a more experienced collector refer to a rock specimen as a “Leaverite”. Here’s the definition…
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Throwback Thursday #236: Only a Rock
This is Throwback Thursday #236. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! “Only a Rock” is a poem that appeared in the July 1964 edition of the ESCONI newsletter. The…
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Throwback Thursday #226: Poem “Rockitis”
This is Throwback Thursday #226. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! The author of the poem below was Winifred Reutter (1909 – 1998) of White River, South Dakota. She…
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RRVGMS Rock Swap – Saturday, September 14, 2024 in Rockford, IL
ROCK MINERAL FOSSIL JEWELRY SWAP MEET Saturday, September 14, 2024 1665 Elmwood Rd. Rockford, IL 61103-1211 A-American Companies Bring it, Swap it, Buy it, and Sell it 9:30 am to 3:30 pm $25 for 10ft by 10ft space Rain or Shine Public Admission Free Sponsored by the Rock River Valley Gem & Mineral Society Contact…
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Throwback Thursday #210: A Rockhound
This is Throwback Thursday #210. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! This poem by Ted Johnson of the Puget Sounder appeared in the April 1962 edition of the ESCONI…
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Throwback Thursday #202: ESCONI’s Debut in Rock and Minerals
This is Throwback Thursday #202. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Rock & Minerals magazine has been in existence since 1926. They are currently published by Taylor and Francis. …
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Throwback Thursday #201: He Gave Me A Rock
This is Throwback Thursday #201. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! We’ve featured the poems of Charles Schweitzer a few times in the past. In Throwback Thursday #59, we looked…
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Precious Stone – Last Joliet-Lemont Limestone Quarry Closing
Chicago Magazine has an article about the closing of the last quarry supplying the famous Joliet-Lemont limestone. Located in Joliet, Bromberek Flagstone has been in business since the 1940’s. ESCONI has visited for a few field trips over the years. Now, it’s closing as Larry Bromberek has sold his property. Back in July when this…
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Throwback Thursday #170: Surefire Signs You’re a Rockhound
This is Throwback Thursday #170. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! ——————————————————————————————- The following list appeared in the January 1998 edition of the newsletter. It was reprinted from the…
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Throwback Thursday #163: Scenes from the 2000 Chicagoland Gem & Mineral Association Show
This is Throwback Thursday #163. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Don’t forget that the 46th Annual CGMA – Chicagoland Gem & Mineral Association is this weekend May 27th…
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Throwback Thursday #152: The Ten Rockmandments
The following list of ten “Rockmandments” appeared in the December 1992 edition of the ESCONI newsletter. It originally appeared in the newsletter for the Nunawading & District Lapidary Club in Nunawading, Victoria, Australia. It’s good to see that the club seems to still be operation! It was founded in 1967.
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The Search for the Perfect Stone
The New Yorker has a story about the annual Tuscon Gem and Mineral Show. The show has been held each winter since 1955. If you can’t find it there, you can’t find it anywhere! For a few weeks every winter, Tucson briefly goes rock crazy. In 1955, local gem-and-mineral enthusiasts began hosting a get-together, an…
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Throwback Thursday #119: Rockhounds vs Rockhogs
This is Throwback Thursday #119. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Today, we have another poem by Charles Schweitzer, who wrote the book “Rhymes of the Rockhounds”. The book…
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Wisconsin Rocks and Minerals
Curious about rock, minerals, and fossils in Wisconsin? There’s a new interactive website by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, is something you should check out! There’s explanation of sedimenary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks. And, information about dolomite, granite, sandstone, and more. Oh…. and also some very beautiful pictures. Check it out!
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Throwback Thursday #98: The Rock I Threw Away!
This is Throwback Thursday #98. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! We’ve featured the poems of Charles Schweitzer a few times in the past. In Throwback Thursday #59, we…
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Video for ESCONI January 2022 General Meeting – “Through the Ages: How we Date Rocks and Geologic Processes”
The January 2022 General Meeting was held on January 14th, 2022 via Zoom. Our speaker was Dr. Alyssa Abbey from California State University Long Beach. The title of her talk was “Through the Ages: How we Date Rocks and Geologic Processes”.
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Answers for the TBT #64: A Rockhound Spelling Test from November 1962
Here are the answers to Throwback Thursday #64 Rockhound Spelling Test. How’d you do? QUIZ ANSWERS There were 20 words offered. If you spelled 15 right you are doing right well. Seventeen right puts you in the professional class, and 19 or 20 right means you can sit right next to Mr. Dana and you…
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Throwback Thursday #59: The Rock Pile
This is Throwback Thursday #59. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! In the October 1962 edition of the ESCONI newsletter “The Earth Science News”, a poem called “The Rock…
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Illinois Needs a State Rock!
A fifth grade class in Burr Ridge, IL says that Illinois needs a State Rock! After speaking with a group knowledgeable experts – amazing educators, rock enthusiasts, geologists and scientists, they’ve narrowed it down to three choices… Sandstone, Dolostone, and Limestone. You can help them by voting and commenting on their page. A fifth grade…
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Throwback Thursday #47: The Rockhound’s Creed
This is Throwback Thursday #47. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! Today, we have “The Rockhound’s Creed” a poem by Agate Pete, which appeared in the October 1957 edition…
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Throwback Thursday #45: Collecting Rocks
This is Throwback Thursday #45. In these, we look back into the past at ESCONI specifically and Earth Science in general. If you have any contributions, (science, pictures, stories, etc …), please send them to esconi.info@gmail.com. Thanks! This week, we have have a poem from the old ESCONI newsletters. “Collecting Rocks” is from the January…
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Man Keeps Rock For Years, Hoping It’s Gold. It Turned Out to Be Far More Valuable #meteorite
ScienceAlert has a post about a valuable find in Australia. It seems that David Hole found a rock he hoped would be gold. It wasn’t, but as it turns out it was more valuable than gold! In 2015, David Hole was prospecting in Maryborough Regional Park near Melbourne, Australia. Armed with a metal detector, he…
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Did a million years of rain jump-start dinosaur evolution?
Nature has an interesting post about a spell of wet weather in the middle Triassic that may have spurred the evolution of the dinosaurs. This wet spell occurred for about a million years about 232 million years ago. The evidence for the very wet period (pluvial episode) is contained in Triassic rocks from the Carnian…
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DH: Wheaton College is selling rocks in April. For departing geology professor, it’s a test of time
The DailyHerald has a story about Wheaton College’s Annual Rock Sale held this year on April 6th, 2019. For retired geology professor Jeff Greenberg, it’s his “swan song” from academia. When you think of Wheaton College, here’s what probably doesn’t come to mind: the geology department’s rock and mineral collection. In the lower level of…
