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Expert Speakers at Nittany Mineralogical
Society's Fourth Annual June 27 - 28, 2009 Saturday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mt. Nittany Middle School 656 Brandywine Dr., State College PA 16801 off US Rt. 322 at Oak Hall exit, southeast side of State College, Pennsylvania Show Admission: $5.00, good for both days. Children 12 & under and Scouts in uniform enter free.
Iron Industries of the Juniata Iron District including Centre County 11:00 a.m. Saturday 
- Paul Fagley (Greenwood Furnace State Park)For much of the first half of the 19th century, Central Pennsylvania was the center of iron production in America. With the vast expanses of hardwood forests for producing charcoal, local ironworks smelted some of the best iron ore in the world to produce the world-famous "Juniata Charcoal Iron." Today, remnants of that industry can still be found in town names and the stone stacks - Pennsylvania's Pyramids - that dot the landscape. Stars, Stripes, and Fireworks: Beautiful Optical Effects in Gemstones 1:00 p.m. Saturday 
- Peter J. Heaney (Penn State, Dept. of Geosciences)Star effects, cat's-eyes, and rainbows can turn ordinary minerals into spectacular ones. Even though the Star of Asia, tiger's-eye, and iridescent feldspar would seem to have little in common, the source of their exceptional optical behavior can be traced to the same property: They all consist of minerals that are intergrown within other minerals at a scale too fine for the unaided eye to see. This talk will address microscopic entities that produce those shimmers of light that can so dramatically enhance the value of a gemstone. Care and Feeding of Vertebrate Fossils 12:00 noon Sunday 
- Julianne Snider (Penn State, Earth & Mineral Sciences Museum & Art Gallery) Fossils can be fragile and friable. Some common methods of handling, housing, consolidating, and repairing them are actually harmful to the fossil and shorten their "shelf life." However, there are preparation and preservation techniques that will ensure the stability of vertebrate fossils, and storage environment is key to keeping fossils stable. An overview of preparation and storage techniques will be presented. Also, the new Paleontological Resources Preservation Act will be reviewed. Fluorescence: See the Glow 1:30 p.m. Sunday 
- John Passaneau (Penn State, Physics Department)Ultraviolet light has long interested mineral collectors because of the beautiful, glowing colors of fluorescence it reveals. The generation of ultraviolet light and its effects on minerals will be demonstrated. |