The Huntsville Gem and Mineral Society likes to make sure that kids not only have a great time at our Gem, Jewelry, and Mineral Show, but also learn a lot! Here are some of the activities we offer each year.
Fluorescent Gem and Mineral Display
This is a darkened room that kids can enter then press buttons to turn on black lights. The black light will cause the fluorescent lights in the display to glow in the dark, and glow in all sorts of beautiful colors. Here’s what some of the fluorescent minerals look like!
Mining Flume
We set up a real mining flume with water running down the chute. Each child pays for a bag full of small gravel mixed with small mineral and semiprecious gemstones. We provide a mesh screen that the kids use to sift out the gravel and find the pretty gems and mineral hidden in the gravel. The kids to take home whatever stones they want! There is no time limit on this activity so kids can spend as much time as they want finding all the hidden treasures.
Did You Know? A unique two-colored diamond weighing 37.41 carats was unearthed by the Lucara Diamond Corporation in Botswana. The diamond is half pink and half colorless. Experts say it likely formed in two stages with the pink half forming first. The discovery was announced in October 2025. Source: 
December: Tanzanite-Named for Tanzania, where it was first discovered, this popular gemstone is the blue-to-violet or purple variety of the mineral zoisite. Zircon-Best known for its brilliant blue hues, zircon’s optical properties make it bright and lustrous. It also occurs in warm autumnal yellows, reds, and reddish browns, and in green hues. Turquoise-This vivid blue gemstone is a rare phosphate of copper that forms only in the Earth’s most dry and barren regions. Ancient peoples from Egypt to Mesoamerica and China treasured it. Source: 