All events are at the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Free Rock Painting (Kids Under 12)
Children under 12 can paint a rock for free! Come express your creative side and take home your own painted rock! Saturday & Sunday 9-3, outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
One rock per child per day, supplies are limited.
Repeats on Sunday.
Field Trip #1: Candy Rhyolite in Truth or Consequences
Collect beautiful candy rhyolite from Jason Brousseau of New Mexico Stone Supply’s claim in Truth or Consequences.
Thank you Jason for allowing us to collect on your claim!
Field Trip #2: Hatch, NM
Gather at the front of the Fair Barn to depart for our rockhounding field trip to SCRAGS’ claim near Hatch, NM.
You will be able to collect barite, calcite, quartz, other beautiful rocks and minerals, and fossils.
There are petroglyphs a short drive away.
Sapphire Panning
Screen for Montana sapphires! The sapphire-bearing gravel was mined in the Rock Creek mining district of Granite County, Montana.
An expert screener (“panner”) will pre-wash your sample – then the fun begins – you search the pile for these precious gems.
$5 per bag.
Sapphire quantities are limited.
Outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Presentation: Egg Carton Mineral Collecting for Kids 5 and Up
Egg cartons and rocks: what do they have in common? Kids: come start your mineral collection! Decorate your egg carton and learn how to fill it with amazing rocks you find! Choose 2 rocks to take home! All supplies provided.
No unattended children, please.
Presented by SCRAGS member Susan Postlethwait.
Gold Panning
Pan for simulated gold for free! Sponsored by the New Mexico Goldminers Association.
You can also purchase panning sand with genuine gold from the NMGA! Visit their booth to learn more about gold panning from local experts and purchase equipment for your new favorite hobby.
Outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Presentation: The Rock Cycle and Classification of Rocks
Mike Eatough has over 40 years experience as a Geologist/Mineralogist and lives in Elephant Butte.
Presentation: Overview of the Volcanoes of Elephant Butte, NM
Bruce Cox is a geologist that hails from Montana and spends winters in T or C.
He is currently mapping the volcanoes or Elephant Butte for the New Mexico Bureau of Mines.
Gold Panning
Pan for simulated gold for free! Sponsored by the New Mexico Goldminers Association.
You can also purchase panning sand with genuine gold from the NMGA! Visit their booth to learn more about gold panning from local experts and purchase equipment for your new favorite hobby.
Outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Free Rock Painting (Kids Under 12)
Children under 12 can paint a rock for free! Come express your creative side and take home your own painted rock! Saturday & Sunday 9-3, outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
One rock per child per day, supplies are limited.
Field Trip #1: Candy Rhyolite in Truth or Consequences
Collect beautiful candy rhyolite from Jason Brousseau of New Mexico Stone Supply’s claim in Truth or Consequences.
Field Trip #2: Hatch, NM
Gather at the front of the Fair Barn to depart for our rockhounding field trip to SCRAGS’ claim near Hatch, NM.
You will be able to collect barite, calcite, quartz, other beautiful rocks and minerals, and fossils.
There are petroglyphs a short drive away.
Presentation: A Beginners Guide to 1.7 Billion Years of New Mexico Geological History
A non-technical overview of the entire geologic history of the state from the creation of the first land that is now New Mexico until the opening of the Rio Grande Rift.
Joan Karrie has a degree in Geology and is a member of the Albuquerque Gem and Mineral Society.
Sapphire Panning
Screen for Montana sapphires! The sapphire-bearing gravel was mined in the Rock Creek mining district of Granite County, Montana.
An expert screener (“panner”) will pre-wash your sample – then the fun begins – you search the pile for these precious gems.
$5 per bag.
Sapphire quantities are limited.
Outside behind the Sierra County Fair Barn.
Presentation: Egg Carton Mineral Collecting for Kids 5 and Up
Egg cartons and rocks: what do they have in common? Kids: come start your mineral collection! Decorate your egg carton and learn how to fill it with amazing rocks you find! Choose 2 rocks to take home! All supplies provided.
No unattended children please.
Presented by SCRAGS member Susan Postlethwait.
Presentation: History of Flint Making and of Traditional Santo Domingo Pueblo Authentic Handmade Jewelry (tentative)
Speaker: Harvey Abeyta, Santo Domingo Pueblo Artist.
No photography or video will be allowed during this presentation.
