Gem show helps raise money for Miller Museum at Queen’s University

The 21st annual Gem, Mineral and Fossil Sale opened Wednesday at Queen’s University. It’s an event that showcases hundreds of unique pieces such as precious stones and fossils. Some are even made into jewelry. This year there are two dealers selling their wares with prices of items ranging from 5 to a few hundred dollars.

The sale is a fundraiser for the Miller Museum at Queen’s University. It’s a giant room filled with hundreds of gems, minerals and fossils. But it wasn’t always that way. The museum’s curator, Mark Badham, took it over 31 years ago and says it was a different scene.

“It was pretty dormant site. There were some cases of minerals on display but there was really no activity going on here,” Badham said.

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Over the years Badham has added hundreds of items to the museum as well as start a number of educational programs such as “Beyond The Classroom,” which moves classrooms into community spaces such as art galleries, museums and community sites.  The museum is free and open to the public.

The money raised over the past 21 years has allowed Badham to add exhibits such as an augmented-reality sandbox. Badham says it’s a fun way to teach topography.

“You can build topography in the sandbox and see the coloured map projected onto the surface. As you change the topography the map updates. It’s very fun,” Badham said.

By using your hands you can mold the sand and create different landscapes. The projector then uses colour to show the different elevations.

The Gem, Mineral and Fossil Sale will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Nov. 10 at 35 Union St. in Kingston.