GeoFest 2010 Report

This is a report about the GeoFest 2010 at the Indiana State Museum.  Today is the last day of the GeoFest.  The event seemed well attended the day I was there.  Over 20 dealers appeared to be in attendance including a number of lapidary, fossil sellers from Crawfordsville, Indiana, a dealer from Morocco selling that area's fossils, and a number of mineral suppliers.

In addition to dealers, the museum provided an area for children's activities: making geodes, identifying fossils, tracing fossils, finding Salem Limestone microfossils and other exhibits.  A number of groups were also exhibiting: Indiana 4-H, 500 Earth Science Club, Indiana Society of Paleontology, Indiana Geological Survey, Lost River Convervation Association, Indiana Academy of Science, and Friends of Mineralogy.

I had an interesting conversation with a geology teacher with the Indiana 4-H.  He had a number of display examples from the Dunes State Park in northern Indiana.  Two shown here are mica and quartz.  A very dedicated educator who had been collecting for a number of years. 

He also had some fossils on display he found in Sullivan County, Indiana in a coal mine.  They appear to be Pennsylvanian Period plants and marine creatures.

Here is a picture of minerals for sale from a dealer's table on the lowest level.

All and all a very nice festival where one can meet experts on Indiana geology and see geology specimens available for purchase.  The added bonus is opportunity to tour the extensive mineral, rock and fossil displays at the museum.