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!

To make sure you are viewing the most recent version of the MGS homepage, please refresh your browser. Thank you.

Latest Club and Related News

Status of Club Meetings and Activities

  • Due to the pandemic, MGS did not hold its September meeting. A decision on the scheduled November meeting has not been announced.


  • Rick Smith, club president and newsletter editor, is putting together what will likely be the last issue of the newsletter for 2020. He has asked members to submit articles for this issue.

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.

Featured Mineral ~ Cordierite

The "Featured Mineral" is cordierite. The gemstone variety of this mineral is iolite. Cordierite is dichroic meaning that its color changes when viewed from different angles. This mineral is the subject of a column by MGS member Bob Farrar that will appear in a forthcoming issue of the MGS newsletter The Rostrum. The picture below shows a large crystal cluster that was found in Richmond, New Hampshire. (This image is reproduced with permission of Rob Lavinsky under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, and is available from Wikimedia Commons.)



Next Meeting

To be announced

Tour the Smithsonian's Dinosaur Hall from Home

At the moment, we no longer 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."

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.
The Maryland Geological Society is a member of the Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies.

Problems with this page? Email the . Thanks.