The Maryland Geological Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the collection, study, and display of all aspects of the geological sciences. Members include amateur and professional fossil and mineral collectors. Membership is open to all.

The club meets at the Community Center in Bowie, Maryland, usually on the third Sunday of every other month, beginning in March. Please check the club calendar. Visitors are always welcome!

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Latest Club and Related News

First Meeting of 2021 Will Be Virtual

MGS President Rick Smith has announced that the MGS meeting scheduled for January 17, 2021, will be held on Zoom. More information on that meeting will be provided at a later date. Current plans are to have a guest speaker.

MGS Club Met Virtually on November 15, 2020

The MGS held its November 15th meeting on Zoom. The session began with some meeting and greeting as members signed on. This was followed by a business meeting led by MGS President Rick Smith. Bob Farrar then presented the mineral of the meeting talk on cordierite. The meeting wrapped up with a series of interesting show and tell offerings by several club members, beginning with two junior members.

During the meeting, the current slate of officers was approved for the coming year.

Shown below is a screen shot of the meeting as members signed on.



Bob Farrar discusses cordierite.



Eric Seifter shows a piece of petrified "peanut" wood from the Cretaceous found in Australia. (This kind of wood exhibits bore holes created by wood-eating clams. Those holes, prior to fossilization, became filled with the shells of radiolarians.)

Next Meeting

January 17, 2021 on Zoom beginning at noon
More details on this meeting will be forthcoming.

Tour the Smithsonian's Dinosaur Hall from Home

At the moment, we do not have access to the wonderful Fossil Hall - Deep Time at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.


All of the marvels of the Fossil Hall are waiting patiently for us to visit once this crisis has passed. But you can enjoy these marvels on one of virtual tours the Museum of Natural History has made available here. The Fossil Hall tour is part of the "permanent exhibits."

EFMLS Online Programs

The Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies (of which MGS is a member) often announces online programs that may be of interest to club members. Check out the EFMLS homepage for announcements of these programs.

WebSightings

Want to keep up with some of the latest information on fossils and minerals appearing on the web? Then check out the MGS WebSightings page.

Notable Quote

Paleontologist Bretton Kent at an MGS meeting:

Amateur collectors make paleontology possible.
The Maryland Geological Society is a member of the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.

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