CALENDAR
At the Museum and More…
Freyburg Fair
October 4-11, 2015
Exhibiting with Saco Valley Mineral Club
Natural Resource Center
Fryeburg, Maine
MMGM Tours & Talks
Beginning November 2015
Rocks & Minerals,
Jan/Feb 2016 Issue
Aquamarine from Stoneham and Vicinity, Oxford County, Maine by Carl A. Francis, Myles Felch, Alexander U. Falster and Douglas Bailey
2016 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show
February 11-14, 2016
Tucson Convention Center
Tucson, Arizona
MMGM News
Director | Curator | Store
Events | Science | Support
Directives-Setting Precedence through Internships and Volunteers
By Barbra Barrett, MMGM Director
MMGM is proud to announce two new “staff” members, setting a precedent we know will last for years and years: to promote advanced educational opportunities through internships and to integrate volunteers as critical members of our operations team.
Michelle Devoe—Intern
MMGM would like to welcome Michelle Devoe as a valued intern. She is a welcome addition to MMGM and to Bethel. Michelle comes to us as a recent graduate of Bates and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Geology with areas of interest including petrology, volcanism and mineralogy.
MMGM Volunteer Betsey Foster and Intern Michelle Devoe
While at MMGM (through December), Michelle will spend her time doing research in the lab, educational outreach, and collections management. Michelle is also passionate about curation and is helping curate MMGM’s exhibit for the Fryeburg Fair in October.
Her project focus is to separate clean pollucite from a number of sources in Maine for analysis. She will next prepare amounts for petrographic and electron microscopic scanning to investigate chemical zoning and eventually for electron microprobe analysis for quantitative analysis. Michelle’s raw data will be calculated to obtain apfu (atoms per formula unit) and thus obtain a formula of the pollucites from various locations. Her data will be plotted to show tends-to-best advantage. Eventually, her results will be published.
Michelle comes to us with enthusiasm. We excitedly support Michelle as she advances her hands-on understanding of geology and pursues rock hounding with the most ardent rock hounders of all.
Betsey Foster—Volunteer
Museums and similar nonprofits are dependent on strong volunteerism. MMGM is delighted that Betsey Foster has joined us (on June 1st) as a volunteer and is trail blazing just what it means to be on the MMGM team. Betsey is working with collections staff, most recently on the David Seaman Collection.
Betsey enjoys a deep community connection with Bethel, having spent her childhood here and now living here for 20 years. More, her mom’s family were early Bethel settlers.
With a Bachelors in Ecology and a Masters in Environmental Health, Betsey worked in environmental consulting and retired early to come home. She thrives on her passions and has a keen interest in rocks and geology and feels most comfortable outside, enjoying long walks with her beloved companion, golden retriever, Monk.
Betsey volunteers at MMGM as she believes, “MMGM is a way for all of us to appreciate and learn more about the surrounding area that we call home here in Bethel area.”
Betsey is also a long time practitioner and teacher of Tai Chi.
Collections-MMGM Remembers and Honors People
By Carl Francis, PhD
From the Ingeborg Burggraf and Dana Jewell Collection
Maine Mineral & Gem Museum is about people as well as about specimens and artifacts. In fact, MMGM’s acquired collections can be viewed as artifacts because they’ve been made by people. Each has a character reflecting the collector’s interests and opportunities.
We purposely intend to remember and honor the people responsible for our collections—the miners and field collectors who “win” specimens from the earth; the dealers and shopkeepers who market specimens; and, especially, those collectors whose collections MMGM preserves.
MMGM exhibited a selection of specimens from the collections of Melrose, Massachusetts naturalists Ingeborg Burggraf and Dana Jewell at the Capital Mineral Club show in Concord, New Hampshire on August 29th and 30th. Primarily through field collecting over 45 years, each built a notable collection. Her specimens are smaller with many single crystals; his are larger matrix specimens.
MMGM at the Capital Mineral Club Show, Concord, New Hampshire
They collected extensively in New England and developed particularly strong suites from Maine and New Hampshire quarries. As an initial step in downsizing their household, they recently made their collections available. With the help of MMGM Trustee and Treasurer Don Dallaire, MMGM acquired their Maine specimens. Some forty-four localities are represented by ~ 500 well documented specimens!
MMGM Geologist Myles Felch selected 18 of their most scientifically significant specimens for the Concord show to honor Inge and Dana, who attended, met Myles and viewed the exhibit. It is a purposeful and educational exhibit and, hopefully, gratifying to Inge and Dana.
MMGM’s Denver exhibit honored David M. Seaman.
Events-Denver Show Features David Seaman Collection
By Amy Halsted, MMGM Communications
MMGM’s Display at the Denver Mineral Show Highlighting Minerals from the American Southwest…from the Seaman Collection.
The jewel of the 48th Annual Denver Gem and Mineral Show, held from September 18-20 was undoubtedly The Seaman Collection, representing the finest range of Maine and Colorado minerals available. It was amassed by David M. Seaman (1926-1992) and was acquired by the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum (MMGM) in 2013.
The Seaman Collection is singular. It is comprised of 8062 well-documented specimens representing 551 species and occurrences in 60 countries and 43 U.S. states.
Following David’s retirement from the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), he lived in Maine and Colorado to follow his passion to field collect their pegmatites. As a result, the richness and variety of both state’s minerals encompass almost half of David’s discoveries.
MMGM’s Geologist, Myles Felch with Curator, Dr. Carl Francis at the Denver Mineral Show
In additional to AMNH, he also held curatorial positions at Carnegie and Harvard Museums. While at each institution, he dedicated himself to educating the public about minerals. The opportunity to similarly illuminate is at the core of Maine Mineral & Gem Museum’s mission.
The Seaman Collection is the foundation of our systematic, worldwide mineral reference and serves as a comprehensive resource for MMGM educational programs.
Treasures – Perham, Woodman, Seaman Collections
by Maggie Kroenke
Woodman Collection Apatite
Do you ever wonder what happened to the Perham Collection after the store closed?
Starting in late September, this famous local collection will be highlighted in the Preview Gallery along with highlights from the collections of Ray Woodman, David Seaman, and Gene Bearss who was known for gathering micromounts: specimens that may be seen only through a microscope! These collections—and several others—form the basis of MMGM’s permanent collection.
Ray Woodman is well known for the breadth of locations he explores; not many collectors have as many locations represented in their personal collections as Ray. David Seaman was the curator for three well known museums; his last position was at the American Museum of Natural History. He retired to Maine to continue to gather minerals.
Fluorapatite Crystal Collected at the Wade Quarry, Mt. Apatite, in Auburn, Maine
Also on display is a select group of meteorites from the Stifler Meteorite Collection. Truly out of this world!
Be sure to visit the MMGM Preview Gallery and Museum Store.
Store Hours: Monday through Saturday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. www.mainemineralgemmuseum.org
Science – Manuscripts and Lectures
By Al Falster, M.S. and Skip Simmons, Jr. Ph.D.
Research News
We have several manuscripts getting close to submission for the special edition of the Canadian Mineralogist dedicated to papers stemming from Peg2015 in Poland.
Among them are:
- On the crystal-chemistry of bjarebyite, (Ba,Sr)(Mn2+,Fe2+,Mg)2Al2(PO4)3(OH)3, from the Palermo #1 pegmatite, Grafton County, New Hampshire. By N. Rotiroti, P. Vignola, W.B. Simmons, A.U. Falster, J.W. Nizamoff, R.W. Whitmore, D. Bersani, P. Lotti, and A. Pavese.
- A paper on the mineral chemistry and bulk composition of the Mount Mica pegmatite by Wm. B. Simmons, A.U. Falster, K.L Webber, Encar Roda-Robles, Alfonso Pesquera, Pedro Gil-Crespo.
- Pseudobrookite from the Nine Mile pluton, Wausau complex, Marathon Co., Wisconsin by T.W. Buchholz, A.U. Falster and Wm. B. Simmons.
Encar Roda-Robles
Outreach and Community Service
Al Falster presented a lecture on Symmetry, Crystals, and Crystallography on September 5th at the monthly meeting of the Capital Mineral Club in Concord, New Hampshire.
Starting with the 3 basic symmetries−symmetry with respect to a point, a line and a plane−we continued on the combinations of these symmetry elements. After a definition of the seven crystal systems−the isometric, tetragonal, orthorhombic, monoclinic, triclinic, hexagonal and rhombohedral systems−we went on to a definition of crystal forms and covered open and closed forms and defined pedions, pinacoids, pyramids, prisms, domes, sphenoids, as well as the numerous closed forms such as dipyramids, and all the isometric forms. A venture into point group notation, also known as Hermann-Maugin notation, and an introduction into Miller indices concluded the lecture.
Support – MMGM’s Glossary on Fund-Raising
By William F. Stockwell, Fundraising Consultant
The success of all nonprofits is measured by the efficacy of its membership drives and funding structure. MMGM has organized its financial objectives to maximize the contributions of all stakeholders from charter members and employees to individual members and major donors. A glossary follows to define which parameter best fits your investment in the future of MMGM.
- Memberships: represent gifts from board members, staff, advisory committee members, vendors, and friends. These totally unrestricted contributions enable MMGM to help close the gap between income and yearly operating expenses. Annual expenditures include staff salaries and benefits, educational programs, equipment, physical plant maintenance, and utility charges. Solicitation for memberships is primarily through our fall membership drive. Memberships are renewable on your anniversary date. Our charter membership year ends October 31, 2015. Donors to this—our first membership drive—are named Charter Members and hold a special membership card.
- Sponsorships: sought from businesses to support operations or special projects.
Foundation Grants: sought from a wide variety of funders nationwide. - Special Appeal: each year we ask for gifts to a special appeal the board has chosen to fill a specific purpose, like building the MMGM rock garden, equipping the library and more.
- Restricted Gifts: donations specifically limited by donors to certain areas. An example of this would be the gift of a collection for the Library, or gifts designated for certain departments.
Capital Campaigns: traditionally raise funds for “bricks and mortar.” At MMGM, Capital Campaign contributions remain an ongoing aspect of our fund-raising activities as we seek the funds for the buildings, endowments and collections. Donors may contact MMGM directly for information pertaining to Capital Gifts and Pledges. Note that ALL gifts will be matched dollar for dollar by the Founders.
Contact us for a membership form or join online at www.mainemineralgemmuseum.org. For sponsorship and funding opportunities, call us, 207.824.3036.
