June General Members Meeting

For our June program we will have Dr. Bill Dinklage, Geology Professor at Santa Barbara City College, present “Minerals, Metamorphic Rocks, and Glaciers of the Around‑Manaslu Trek, Nepal Himalayas”.

The trek around the eighth tallest mountain in the world passes through metamorphic rocks of the Greater Himalayan Sequence. These include schists from Barrow’s garnet, staurolite, and kyanite zones, gneiss from the sillimanite zone, and diopside phlogopite gneiss. Dinklage will explain the origin of these rocks and show thin sections and hand samples of some of these rocks, as well as bioturbation preserved in black phyllite. He will also show some photos of glaciers in recession caused by recent climate change. 

Our June member’s meeting will be in person at the Poinsettia Pavilion on Wednesday, June 24th. Social time begins at 7 p.m. and the meeting will start at 7:30. Members of the public are welcome.

May General Meeting

Our May program will be given by Austin Lippincott. Austin is a Physics teacher at Oak Park High School. He often uses rocks and minerals to showcase fascinating physics concepts in class (optics, nuclear, and quantum physics). His talk will be about the elusive Fairburn agates of the Black hills in South Dakota. We will explore the fascinating subculture that has spawned because of these colorful gems. People have dedicated their lives to collecting these; rightfully so considering the price tag they carry!

Hope to see you all there

Our May members meeting will be at Poinsettia Pavilion on May 27th. Social time begins at 7 p.m. and the meeting will start at 7:30. Members of the public are welcome.

 

Annual Ventura Gem Show

Our annual gem show is held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds on the first full weekend in March. In 2027, the dates will be March 6 & 7. For more information visit our Show page.

Membership Highlights

VGMS members enjoy many benefits, including an annual gem show, field trips, lapidary instruction and use of equipment, monthly newsletter, museum, extensive library, social events, youth programs, and of course, camaraderie. To become a member, visit our Membership page and fill out the Membership Form at the bottom of the page.

VGMS Meetings

Poinsettia_Pavilion

General meetings are held the fourth Wednesday of the month (except November and December – 2nd Wednesday).  The public is invited to attend any of our general meetings. We meet either on Zoom or at Ventura’s Poinsettia Pavilion in the Santa Paula Room (3451 Foothill Rd, Ventura, CA 93003) on the 4th Wednesday of every month, except November and December, when we meet on the 2nd Wednesday so as not to interfere with the holidays. Park in either the upper or lower lot, and enjoy an ocean view of Ventura from this hillside venue just below Two Trees.

Mission Statement

The VGMS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote popular interest in geology, mineralogy, paleontology, and related subjects. We sponsor lectures, classes, demonstrations, field trips and school visits to further education and interest both within VGMS and the community at large. Our annual gem show exhibits rock, mineral, fossil, and lapidary arts collections in order to share our hobby with the public. Find out more at About the VGMS.