Geo Juniors
Hi! Welcome to our website. Please excuse our mess as we chip away at this site. We just couldn’t wait to get it up.
The Geo Juniors are the kids’ group from the Chicago Rocks & Minerals Society. The goal of this group is to learn about the earth sciences and the various aspects of geology, paleontology, paleobotany, mineralogy and the lapidary arts, as well as to collect minerals, fossil specimens, and cutting material. We ARE the future rockhounds!
How are we going to do this? Through the AFMS Future Rockhounds of America (FRA) badge program. CRMS is a sponsors this program, which promotes the growth of our hobby for future generations. The program is a series of guided activities modeled after the Boy and Girl Scouts Merit Badge™ systems. All CRMS junior members up to age 18 are eligible. As part of the CRMS program, we are requested to display the labors of our badge work through completed projects, pictures, or a written paper by participating in Show and Tell.
Virtual Geo Junior Meeting
Saturday, February 12, 6:15pm using Zoom!
The Juniors will be having Zoom meetings until further notice. To see what you missed or for next month’s assignments, visit the Meetings’ Notes page.
The link is sent out a few days before each meeting. If you need it resent, please email info@chicagorocks.org.
Here is a link to learn how to join a Zoom meeting in case you don’t already know how: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-meeting
The adult CRMS meetings are live and also virtual. Adult meetings start at 7:30 pm. Your Zoom link will be emailed to you by 7p.m.-ish Saturday night. Make sure we have your current email address. If you have changed your email address or need to be added to the list, send your email to info@chicagorocks.org or just reply to this email.
Another freebie from the folks at Diamond Dan
Thanks to Diamond Dan we were able to play virtual Bingo at the beginning of Covid. They have graciously allowed us to post their latest Mineral & Crystal Coloring Book here for you to download. Pass it out, pass it around, they just want this simple coloring book to be distributed far and wide. All they ask is “Just please, don’t sell it to anyone. It is a gift.” Click here to get your coloring book.
For those of you unfamiliar with Diamond Dan, they publish Mini Miners Monthly, a monthly e-magazine for young mineral & fossil collectors. They also publish other coloring & activity books, mineral books, mineral place mats, patches for young collectors. Visit their website at: http://www.diamonddanpublications.net/ . They also have a YouTube page with some great videos on how to create, label & display your own mineral collection. Click here to visit their YouTube Channel.
Geo Junior 2021 National Youth Poster Contest Winners
Sponsored by North Lakes Academy Rockhounds of Minnesota
THEME: “Rockin’ Around the USA” – Rocks and Minerals from around the USA
How our juniors did:
- Tiger Eye 1st place for 7th grade and placed 2nd overall
- Magnetite Girl 3rd place for 5th grade
- She who is Unnamed 1st place for 4th grade
- Emerald 4th place 2nd grade
- She who is Unnamed2 4th place for 1st grade
Congratulations to all on a job well done!!
See below to enter the 2022 contest…
2022 National Youth Poster Contest
Sponsored by North Lakes Academy Rockhounds of Minnesota
THEME: “Did You Know: Dinos” All About Dinosaurs! Pick a favorite prehistoric dinosaur and create a poster telling us all about it OR create a “Top 10 Dinosaur Facts” poster and give us your favorite prehistoric facts!
ELIGIBILITY: Any student in 1st through 8th grade. Students do NOT need to be in a rock club to participate!
ENTRY CATEGORIES: Posters will be judged by grade level.
PRIZES: Ribbons and prizes will be awarded for 1st – 5th place in each grade. Overall Champions will also be selected and will receive a prize.
CONTEST RULES:
- All entries must be presented on 12”X18” paper.
- Include name, address, and school grade of participant on BACK of entry.
- No three dimensional posters accepted.
- The title should be on the FRONT of the poster.
SCALE OF POINTS:
- Originality and Art Work – 30 points
- Title / Theme Organization, Design, Spelling, Grammar – 10 points
- Information Provided – Facts and Details – 20 points
ARTWORK: Artwork can be done with pen, ink, crayons, magic markers, paint, print, photography, or any other artist’s medium. Please note: If using pictures from a printed source, pictures must be cited!
DEADLINE: Entries must be done by April 15, 2022 Posters will be shared at this meeting & then we will set up a time to pick them up & mail them off together.
Meetings are from 6:15pm – 7:15pm on the second Saturday of the month. We are currently using Zoom for our meetings until further notice. For more information about our meetings & physical location, click here.
Meeting dates for 2021-2022 membership year:
September 11, 2021 – Meeting will be via Zoom
October 9, 2021
November 13, 2021
December 11, 2021
January 8, 2022
February 12, 2022
March 12, 2022
April 9, 2022
May 14, 2022
June 11, 2022
No meeting in March, it is the night of our silent auction. However, feel free to come & add to your collections. Even the kids can bid. If the auction is cancelled, we will have a regular meeting on Zoom..
The club does not meet in March, July or August. March is the month for the annual CRMS Silent Auction. All Geo Juniors are welcome to attend and bid on specimens for auction. It is a great way to start building your own rock, mineral and fossil collections. For more information on the auction, visit the Auction page at http://www.chicagorocks.org/auction.htm .
Like Us on
Facebook!
This is also the place to track your stones.
https://www.facebook.com/JuniorsGeo
Visit Our
Pinterest Boards!
If you are working on the badge program a visit to our Pinterest page is a MUST! Boards have been arranged by badge making it easy to find information and projects.
https://www.pinterest.com/geojuniors/boards/
Meeting Notes
Did you miss our last meeting? Do you need the links we talked about at the last meeting? Here is the page you are looking for...