East Texas Gem & Mineral Show

Every year the East Texas Gem & Mineral Society hosts their annual Gemstone & Jewelry Show.  Dealers from across Texas and beyond converge on the Tyler Rose Garden Center to sell custom jewelry, unique gem & mineral specimens, rare fossils and other treasures dug from the earth beneath our feet.  I've been to a few of the group's functions and was happy to return for this year's show.  

One of the show's best attractions is the Rock Food Table.  Take a close look at the picture above.  What looks like a delicious spread of fine dining choices are actually all rocks.  Most of the pieces are rocks that just happen to be shaped like certain foods but some of them are polished/finished to complete the illusion.  

The Rock Food Table is currently owned by a member of the ETGMS but originated by a couple in the Gulf Coast region.  A few years back I shot some footage of it for a documentary.  Here's a clip:

Just for fun, I got some updated video on this visit for TikTok.  Here's a quick look at the current Rock Food Table and maybe you can spot some new dishes on display:

@geologyvideo Rocks that look like food #geology #rocks #gemandmineralshow #science #rockfoodtable #earthscience #fyp ♬ Eat It - "Weird Al" Yankovic

Other attractions at the show included a silent auction, a fluorescent mineral display, door prizes, demonstrations and kids games.  We picked up a few new specimens for collection and got a look at some great displays that included petrified wood, lapidary work and other great pieces found by ETGMS club members.

The Geology Department from Stephen F. Austin University was also represented at the show.  Professor Bloxson and one of her grad students were there with information about oil deposits in east Texas and the rocks in the area that contain the oil.  They had great information for young aspiring geologists and anyone else that might have an interest in the subject. 

 

Naranjo Museum of Natural History

An impressive collection of artifacts from millions of years ago, far beneath the Earth's surface, and above the clouds are on display at the Naranjo Museum of Natural History in Lufkin, TX.  We take a look at it in the newest episode of East Texas Explorer:

The Lunar, the Better

When you think of the small East Texas town of Lufkin you might not immediately think of fossils, dinosaurs and space travel but those are some of the topics covered in the town's little known (at least I had never heard of it) Naranjo Museum.

But among the impressive dinosaur skeletons and archaeological specimens is the museum's most impressive piece...which came from a long distance to its East Texas resting place.

That's right, the world's largest moon rock on display can be found in Lufkin, TX!  It was collected by the Apollo 14 mission and was permanently loaned to the museum by NASA’s Johnson Space Center.  Here's a close look at the 4 billion year old specimen:

The moon is approximately hundreds of thousands of miles away so if you want to see a big piece of it you're probably a lot better off heading to Lufkin.