Kitchener-Waterloo Gem and Mineral Club
The Kitchener-Waterloo Gem and Mineral Club was formed in 1965.
For more than forty years, our club has brought together people
who have an interest in the lapidary arts and in collecting
rocks, minerals, and fossils.
Members are residents of Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph,
and other communities in Waterloo and Wellington Counties, Ontario.
The club meets on a monthly basis at the Waterloo Community Arts Centre in
Waterloo. Meetings include speakers, workshops and the ever-popular monthly
raffle for gems and minerals.
Special events include picnics, pot-luck suppers and field trips.
The club also provides a forum for an exchange of information
and ideas about the hobby. We also promote safe and responsible collecting,
and we work with other federation clubs to secure more collecting areas.
Our club is a member of the Central
Canadian Federation of Mineralogical Societies.
Meetings
Future Meetings
-
Friday, April 9 2010, 7 PM at the
Waterloo Community Arts Centre: Aimee Partlow will be speaking
on "Iceland, a land of ice and fire". Gary Partlow will give
a mini-talk on the geology of the Marmora Quarry.
- Friday, May 7 2010: Alan Morgan of the
University of Waterloo will speak on "Global Warming: Fact or
Fantasy?".
- Friday, June 4 2010: The club's annual potluck picnic,
plus a visit to Stonebridge Imports' warehouse of min-
eral treasures.
- Friday, September 3 2010: The annual Show-and-Tell event.
Bring your specimens from your summer collecting trips.
- Friday, October 1 2010: TBA.
- Friday, November 5 2010: Our own
Rob Maric will speak on "All you ever need to know about ground wa-
ter: do we have enough?".
- Friday, December 3 2010: The annual holiday auction of minerals, gems, fossils, and other items.
Past Meetings
- Friday, January 8 2010:
Karen Fox gave a mini-talk on Tahitian pearls, and
Walter Zimochod, a dedicated passionate and creative jeweller from Guelph
talked on "design to finished product".
- Friday, February 5, 2010:
Petra Suffling gave a talk about the geology of New Zealand.
- Friday, March 5, 2010: Mike Lothrop told us about flint knapping
and displayed some of his stone tools made from flint, chert, and
other silicate rocks. Kathy La Hay gave a mini-talk about the many uses of
gypsum.
For more past meetings, see here.
Kids Club
Our Kids Club is designed for children 5-16 who are interested in
rocks, fossils, and minerals. We try to meet monthly on a Saturday at the
Waterloo Community Arts Centre.
Some past meetings:
- January 2010:
The Kids' Club hosted the father-daughter team of Gary and Aimée
Partlow from the adult
mineral club. They gave a presentation on the Marmora Quarry (which was noted for its iron) and all
of the different types of minerals that they collected. They showed pictures from their trip and talked to
us about what it is like to collect minerals in the field.
At the end of the presentation the kids were allowed to select a
mineral of their choosing to take home. Thank you, Gary and Aimée!
The Kids' Club meeting for February will take place on Saturday February 13, 2010 at 2 PM at the Waterloo Community Arts Centre. You will notice that it is taking place the second Saturday of the month.
In this meeting the kids will be creating their very own rock craft - a pet rock or a rock fridge magnet.
If you have some rocks you would like to paint and put googly eyes on bring them in.
For more information about the kids' club, contact
Robert Maric.
News and Future Events
last updated June 20 2010
Provided as a public service. Details not guaranteed.
Always check with show venue before heading
out on a long car trip.
-
July 23-25 2010: The Toronto Gem and Mineral Show. Friday, 4 PM - 9 PM; Saturday, 10 AM - 7 PM; Sunday 10 AM - 5 PM.
Leaside Gardens, 1073 Millwood Road, East York, Ontario. Adults $8, Seniors $7, Chil-
dren 12-18 $6, Under 12 free admission with adult. For more info, contact Ohannes Bedrossian, (514) 989-
9800 or e-mail torontogemshow@canada.com .
-
July 25 2010: The Bancroft Mineral Club presents their 15th Annual Gem & Mineral Show, Sunday 10 AM - 4
PM, Bancroft Legion Hall, Station Street, Bancroft, ON. Admission $2, under 18 free. For more info, e-mail
alrocks16@yahoo.ca .
- July 29 - August 1 2010: The 47th Annual Rockhound Gemboree, Canada's largest gem and mineral show.
Thu-Sat, 10 AM - 7 PM; Sun, 10 AM - 5 PM. Over 110 dealers. For more info, call (877) 410-1513 or (613)
332-1513.
-
September 11 2010: Open House and Rock Swap at Robert Hall Originals, Saturday, 10 AM - 5 PM. 138
Sugar Maple Road, St. George, Ontario. Fri-Sun, 10 AM - 5 PM. Free. For more info, phone (519) 448-1236
or (800) 360-2813, or e-mail inquiry@roberthalloriginals.com , or visit http://www.roberthalloriginals.com .
-
September 18-19 2010: 42nd Annual Scarborough Gem and Mineral Show, Saturday 10 AM - 6 PM; Sunday
11 AM - 5 PM. Don Montgomery Community Centre, 2467 Eglinton Avenue E.,
Scarborough, ON. Adults $5, Children $1. For more info: e-mail scarbgemclub@lycos.com or visit
http://www.scarbgemclub.ca .
- October 1-3 2010: Ancaster Gem, Mineral, Bead & Jewellery Show. Try on the latest in fashionable jewellery.
See crystals, fossils & magnificent rocks from all over the world! Shop at over 30 dealers. Take a free seminar
on rocks, fossils or crystals. Hours: Friday: 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM; Saturday: 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM; Sunday:
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission: $6.00 per person, under 12 free. Location: Ancaster Fairgrounds, 630 Trin-
ity Road, Ancaster, Ontario (corner of Hwy. 52 & Hwy. 53). For more info, phone: 519-448-1236 or 1-800-
360-2813 or visit www.roberthalloriginals.com or e-mail rockshow@roberthalloriginals.com .
- October 30-31 2010: University of Waterloo Gem Show. More information
as it becomes available.
How to Contact Us
Mailing Address:
Kitchener-Waterloo Gem and Mineral Club
c/o Reiner Mielke
Waterloo Community Arts Centre
25 Regina St. S.,
Waterloo, ON N2J 1R8 Canada
Contacts
- Gary Winkler, President
Tel: (519) 803-4343
Send E-mail
- Jeffrey Shallit, Rockblast Editor
Tel: (617) 964-2471
- Reiner Mielke, Waterloo Community Arts Centre
Tel: (519) 729-9261
Annual Show and Sale
Each year our club organizes an annual show, which is open to the public.
Our show provides an opportunities for people to buy, sell and exchange rocks,
minerals, fossils, gemstones, lapidary material and equipment.
The show is held on the first Saturday in May from 10 AM to 4 PM
at the Waterloo Community Arts Centre, 25 Regina St. S., in Waterloo, Ontario.
Admission is free.
Anyone (including dealers, swappers, clubs, and artists) may participate in
the show. Dealers are not permitted to advertise their business.
The fee to participate is $5 per foot of table (min. 4 ft., max. 8 ft.),
or 30% of sales, whichever is less. Tables are 2.5 feet wide.
Space is limited to 138 feet of table (tables are 2.5 ft. wide),
and of this 18 ft. or 3 tables are available free to other clubs for
displays, sales, promotion, or activities.
To reserve space or to obtain more information, please contact
Gary Winkler.
Field Trips
Field trips are arranged about twice a year.
Past trips have included
- Bancroft for apatite, biotite, and titanite;
- Cobalt for silver and cobalt arsenides;
- Arkona for fossil corals and brachiopods; and
- Herkimer, New York, for quartz crystals.
Field trips are organized by
Ray Lehoux, Tel: (519) 822-8523.
Membership
Our annual membership fees are $20
for a family or individual. New members are welcome any time.
Newsletter
The Rockblast is published monthly and is edited by
Jeffrey Shallit. Our newsletter outlines activities
and includes interesting articles related to lapidary and the rock and
mineral collecting hobby.
We currently exchange newsletters with other clubs.
The latest Rockblast is the June 2009 issue, and can be seen
here.
For past issues, see the archive.
Resources
Our club is sponsored by GemSelect,
a German-Thai company specializing in gemstones in Chanthaburi, Thailand.
Thanks to GemSelect for their support!