Our Monthly Meetings

WHERE: The MSDC holds monthly meetings at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum located at 10th and Constitution Ave., NW on the National Mall in Washington, DC. We meet in the Waldo Schmitt Room.

WHEN: September through June, on the first Wednesday of each month, we meet at 7:45 pm sharp in the lobby of the National Museum of Natural History main entrance at 10th and Constitution Ave. Parking is free after 6:30 p.m. For security purposes, access to the meetings is gained only through a museum guard, so you won’t want to be late.

Dates for the 2005 MSDC Wednesday Eve. meetings:

January 5 / February 2 / March 2 / April 6 / May 4

June 1 / September 7 / October 5 / November 2 / December 7

WHY ATTEND: Feed your curiosity. To find out about the specific topic of the monthly meeting’s presentation, enquire via email at thompson01@erols.com or call 301-270-6790 (evenings).

HOW: To find out if our MSDC club is of interest to you, review our program’s track record, namely the list of previous presentation topics. All presenters are experts in their field but remember, our members include novices as well.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Most of our speakers are experts in specific areas of geology. Many are on the staff of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum or have professional backgrounds which are steeped in personal experiences pertaining to their presentation topic. Their clarity and stories make their presentations accessible to both amateurs and experienced collectors alike.

Speaker's Topic for January 5, 2005 meeting

Tim Rose, MS, of the Mineral Department of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History will speak on: "Rock collecting at the four corners of theWestern Hemisphere: the cardinal direction markers of the National Museum of the American Indian"

For the MSDC 5 January 2005 club meeting, meet at 7:45 pm in the lobby of the Smithsonian’s Natural History museum and proceed to the Waldo Schmitt Room. There, Tim Rose, of the NMNH Mineralogy Department, will present an illustrated lecture on the four Cardinal Direction Marker stones which point to the heart of the new museum of the American Indian. Tim was intimately involved with the collection and delivery of three of these four stones and will share with us the inside story.

For background information, click on the following Smithsonian website and scroll down to the end of the file to read a brief explanation of the “Cardinal Direction Markers”:
http://www.nmai.si.edu/opening/explore/museum.html

To see a photo of the 2,000 pound northwest stone, from the oldest known stone material on earth, go to the following website and scroll down to “Cardinal Marker” http://www.canadianembassy.org/artsculture/nmai-en.asp

It should be a fascinating evening. Please join us.

RECENT SPEAKERS HAVE INCLUDED:
Geologists, volcanologists, museum curators, lab directors, micro-mineralogists, specialists in selected families of minerals, jewelry artists, photographers and collectors familiar with mineral sites throughout the U.S. and overseas.

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