TVGMS Membership

Do you like to hang out and visit with other rockhounds, talk about places to find interesting rocks, and check out their finds? We all do! Though we pride ourselves on our educational mission and goals, we also like to socialize and get together with our friends. TVGMS is a friendly group of people with a common interest.

Our monthly meetings are fairly informal settings where we discuss upcoming events and ongoing projects. We plan for any fundraising activities, field trips, club needs, etc. Several times each year we have expert speakers come to talk about a wide variety of topics. We’ve had speakers on meteorites, diamonds, roadside geology, etc. Sometimes we show videos on geology related topics. After a field trip we often have a general show and tell. Our monthly meetings are also a chance for those who cannot attend a field trip or shop event to catch up and socialize with those that did.

In addition to member access to the workshop we often hold group or individual lessons on various lapidary techniques and metal working. We can help you take a field trip find to a gorgeous cabochon to setting it in a silver or copper setting and creating a beautiful handmade piece of jewelry. These lessons are given by jewelers with many years of experience to help you learn quickly. The instructors will work with you at your speed and help build your confidence. 

Over the past few years our workshop usage has boomed. Currently the workshop is open twice a week for two-hour sessions. These sessions are available for members to work on cutting and polishing their field trip finds. Sometimes we work on club projects to prepare for a show and sale. Occasionally we have demonstrations on interesting techniques and processes.  Newcomers are given a tour of the machinery and instruction on usage and experts are available to help you learn the ropes. Our shop runs on the time and efforts of several devoted club volunteers. Our shop contains large oil lubricated rock saws, several smaller saws, grinding and polishing wheels and laps, a soldering station for metal working. The shop is also available on a reservation basis – just let us know when you’d like to access the shop and we’ll work on getting one of the volunteers to make that work for you.