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Gem, Fossil & Mineral show offered hands-on learning

By Bonnie Bucqueroux on October 27, 2009

The show offered visitors the chance to make stone cutting tools similar to those Native Americans made thousands of years ago

The show offered visitors the chance to make stone cutting tools similar to those used in Michigan thousands of years ago

The Ingham County Fairgrounds in Mason recently hosted the Gem, Fossil and Mineral Show where you could learn the ancient art of flintknapping – how to make an arrowhead or stone cutting tool using techniques that Native Americans employed for thousands of years. At a nearby table, kids were polishing Petoskey stones. This gave them the chance to see firsthand how a muddy-looking rock could become a shiny marvel by applying some hard work and a little sandpaper.

The video shows why it is not an exaggeration to say the show was dazzling.

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Posted in , | Tagged Bucqueroux, flintknapping, fossil, gem, Ingham County Fairgrounds, Lansing Online News, lapidary, Mason, , mineral, Petoskey stones | Leave a response

Bonnie Bucqueroux

Bonnie Bucqueroux retired from Michigan State University's School of Journalism to experiment with online publications, including Lansing Online News. She is also co-president (with Susan Masten) of Lansing Area NOW.
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