Saturday, November 9 is the 17th annual Pioneer Valley Institute Gem, Mineral, Rock and Fossil Show and Sale at Greenfield Community College’s new Dining Commons in the Main Building. (If you haven’t been to GCC, don’t worry. You won’t get lost! Also, the newly reconstructed Core area with the Dining Commons is just beautiful.) The show opens at 9:30 and runs to 4 pm. ADMISSION IS FREE!

Besides geological specimens from around the world, come and see jewelry, beads, cabochons, and many other “gems” from the earth. Talented local artisans have crafted many items. The Jurassic Roadshow showcases specimens from the Connecticut Valley. Talk to the expert collectors. Bring in your specimens for identification. On display: an amazingly preserved baby dinoprint. You can also take a tour of the GCC Rock Park at the rear of the Main Building.

At 1:00 Historian Bob Herbert will present a program on ROSWELL FIELD, the owner of the famous Barton Cove dinosaur footprint quarry where so many Amherst College Hitchcock specimens were collected. This man, now mostly forgotten, was an important layman-scientist who met and corresponded with many world-famous scientists. You can see the whole Bob Herbert journal article here: http://www.gillmass.org/pdfs/2013-Robert-Herbert-Roswell-Field.pdf .