The Gem and Mineral Society of Syracuse (GMSS) announces that Gemworld 2023 will return to the Center of Progress Building at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY on Saturday July 8 and Sunday July 9. This year’s theme is “New York Rocks,” and the show will include various displays of rocks, minerals and fossils that come from the state.
The show will be open from 10 am to 6 pm Saturday, and from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday. Suggested donation is $7 for adults each day. Scouts in uniform and children under 12 will be admitted free with an adult.
You will discover minerals, geodes, fossils and other items of interest at more than 65 retail and wholesale dealers, 40 of them from New York State, and from 12 other area states from New Hampshire to Florida. There will also be beautiful jewelry, trendy beads, cut stones and supplies as well as educational exhibits, interesting demonstrations, informative speakers, and a special activity area for the kids. There will be a Mineral Identification booth staffed by GMSS volunteers to help you with your unknown mineral finds. Hourly prize drawings and the popular 25 Cent Straw Draw will be at the GMSS Club Booth. Six Metaphysical practitioners will also be in attendance, located in the Annex area.
Speaker topics at the Learning Center will include ones on explaining echinoderms, “Astronomy and Life on Earth,” “The Natural History of Clark’s Reservation,” and “Species Diversity and Symbiosis.”
The Paleontological Research Institute (PRI) from Ithaca, NY, will also be represented. The PRI runs the Museum of the Earth from their facility in Ithaca. The museum has an exhibit “NY Rocks!: Ancient Life of the Empire State” on display through December 2023.
The Gem and Mineral Society of Syracuse began in March 1951. Richard Sylvester, an employee of NY Central Railroad, was tired of taking the train to Rochester for mineral club meetings. He met with six Central New York people who were also interested in geology and rockhounding – the hobby of searching for gem and mineral specimens – and formed the Syracuse group. The first meetings were held in Lyman Hall at Syracuse University.
The GMSS Club now meets in the Ponderosa Plaza, 209 Oswego St., Suite 15, Liverpool, NY. Meetings are held on the third Monday of most months. There are monthly speakers who present topics related to the rockhounding hobby and geology, as well as silent auctions and the Knowledge Center, which focuses on various subjects. Visitors of all ages are always welcome. More information is available on the group’s website: www.syracusegemsociety.com, on its Facebook page: gemandmineralsyr, and on Instagram and Twitter at: @gemmineralsyr.
