thumbnail of World of the Rockhound; 23
Transcript
Hide -
If this transcript has significant errors that should be corrected, let us know, so we can add it to FIX IT+
He's man we still explore the frontiers of this earth are geologists searching for oil and minerals in the remote corners of the world. The second largest craft hobby in America today is said to be rock hounding with all of its branches of interest some of which are Jim cutting making jewelry and the collection of gem stones rocks minerals and fossils. This universal hobby has grown to astonishing proportions in the last 25 years and shows signs of even more rapid growth as the need develops for more people to pursue more leisure time activities due to the fact that they are working fewer hours have more days off and get more vacation time. Rocks and minerals are specimens of extreme importance to the rock. I have or most people do not realize the important role the rocks and minerals play in everyday living.
For example fluorite used in toothpaste and clothing. This series of programs is designed to give an overall picture of the rockhound. Offer encouragement to the newcomer in this hobby and present information of general interest to everyone. All of this will be examined as we explore the world of the rock. Today's program is entitled Looking to the future. The narrator is Len. But in previous programs of this series we have observed and talked with amateur rock Alan's professional rocket scientists artists writers the pebble pops and the students. Some of these students Iraq counting has been a passing fancy a part of the collecting age in every child's life. To other students this is the beginning of a career a future that has unlimited possibilities. This future often
begins at an early optimistic age. Oh you mean living. Yeah. Your name is Bill Wright. Look right here. I'm in it. What do you want to be when you grow up. Did you know you sing a bit near you due to the difficulty in following two professions. There may be many changes in Billy girlie's plans before he reaches college age. Twelve year old Mick Taylor has a double goal to reach also. He has a rock collection now and intends to expand it and keep bat it while he's practicing law. What do you expect to do when you grow up root. It's sort of like to be a lawyer going to let lurkers who want to study theology. Are. Like you. And then you think this will continue to be your hobby probably all through your lives.
Yes ma'am the Coast Guard had been for about eight years now. School science courses do much to encourage the teenage rockhound who might be considering this as a future. Cathy Powell made a black box for her junior high science class and she studied the effects of fluorescent lights on the rocks inside this big black box which is rather large. But the people in the front of it. Whale it's about two feet high in about one and a half foot across. And it's a black eye you describe it. Well as if there were it can you are shy and at the top at the top age across there's an there's an eyepiece that you can you know look through and and have a diagnose you of the rock and then at the bottom at the bottom coming in and you see if the ultraviolet light that shines on the rocks and it's made so that you can turn it in focus it on the truck and you get a better picture of the truck. Does it hold more than run one rock at a time. What do you mean. How many rocks can you put in this. Oh in the black box I have
11 in it now and you can see all of those if you look through that eyepiece you can see all 11 at one time. Yes me. What kind of rock to have in it. Well let's see I can't name a mob but I have here one die and highlight ople on pavement. And frankly not and while I'm out on Cal I mean I have calcified it's in purple and from sheet light school projects to sustain and increase the student's interest in many incentives are offered to encourage these young people. Mr Douglas Brown editor of the Gem and Mineral section of Hobbes magazine and custody of the West Sony an institution in Los Angeles furnished minerals to go in junior high collections. Also the institution sponsored side's achievement award programs and award banquets. And usually at these a rock band because there's a speaker from a college who explains to the students what tremendous potential they
have when it is properly put to use. We have many things modest way to help the school from the students and the mineral clubs of the area. Among those items I must take a little credit for having supplied by my own efforts the mineral for an exhibit for the use of each of the 70 junior high schools in Los Angeles. Each exhibit has 50 different minerals. I also was privileged to have instigated or instituted perhaps a better word the science achievement award
banquet now in a state as probably in Jojo's science students are encouraged to take up one project each year and bring it to a conclusion a science project. And from each school the best science project as as concluded by a committee. I have a student and his project judge just out of all of the projects in that particular school goes to a county judging
and from that the best project from the county goes to the state contest. So us over once a year the science project students have a showing in this case in Los Angeles County Museum grounds where their projects are set up and these then are judged and the best one is awarded a trophy. Now at that time I felt that all of these students had done it for them monumental job and not one but most of the projects were the
real work of scientific interest and some of them have been adopted by industry to show the excellence and the thoroughness of which they have at least students have gone ahead with their studies and their project to fruition. At that point as I say I felt something else might be done so at the conclusion of the showing of the state winners we held a banquet at which entertainment was provided and a speaker from one of the college is science department would then discuss the potential of science for the student and naturally he would
provide them with a rundown of what that particular college or school. Had in its various courses which might be of interest to the science student in my own case being the son of a mining engineer he had my father exposed me to minerals before I was ever in school. He would take me on Sunday afternoon walk and he would point out what Stone was granite on the trail of our walk. What stone was loud about and eventually I discovered through his tutelage that live I was the host of agate agates could be polished and made into attractive ring sets etc..
That was Mr. H Douglas Brown gems and minerals editor from Hobbes magazine. Many universities sponsor science fairs for high school students. Larry Christodoulou a winner at Vanderbilt University fair held for high school students chose quality fossils as his subject. The second time around he has participated in several of these fairs. So. Yes. Three of them in middle Tennessee think person out of print out one true first crime. Do you intend to go here. Yes. Great hopes. Recreation room and next project in the five player. Entry is pretty true. Last year with there were. 250 projects. I entered that are going to be how many entries were in the geological Division I was
competing about against 25 30 projects. Well what was the extent of your of this boy here and Terry. My share. I tried two different geological report on a quarry which had some excellent fossils of history and period. Oh it was a plane and you had exhibits. I had a small collection of what had come from there. Along with that there were several folks around here. Oh did you show anything very much while I was gone and. There were collections of the fossils that occurred there. I had be scared out of everything. Book along with the added this cover. Disk. Or is on about a hundred and twenty five acres that it. Covered and I or you have
a sort of Aryan shale which was prolific and fossils. We're hearing your inference to me. Well the first year I entered the science fair I did it on. My mouse. You can't prove too much. With a mental correction. The only thing you can do with a mental connection is to show good looking interesting. Geology and fossils you cannot sort of explain things so fare any kind of a study then you would have to fill display rather than a mineral collection display. Well up to this year I felt so good. This year I planned to do another. Project but it will be just a display you will be trying to prove something. And this is what to just look for.
What kind of people are judges in science fairs. You've got lawyers maybe most of them are either doctors or my lawyers. And Dr Wilcox and he's the. Assistant Professor of Professor of Vanderbilt and you know logic. So they're not working then just kind of hold this bloody Are they they want to see all the knowledge that you have. And what you've got in your head too. To put it together and well it's more than just a pretty display you've got to prove something. How long does a bear like to fly. Hans for. Reading. It's open. When are you open to the public to come in and see. It's open to the public to come and see but it's going to ask
for exhibitors. The Vanderbilt. After looking at Larry's collection of minerals and fossils some four hundred thirty five you know. We asked him how he learned about all these things and how this hobby has led toward his goal of becoming a geological engineer. How do you go about I leave me you know how can you just sit here and tell me all of this. There's only one way to learn about a master. Keep. Messing with him. And here you know just generally about what you're doing because most of this is just memory work. Well you must have to study all the time don't you. There's a difference between stepping in and you're going to do something. To me because. This is a hobby you know. It's building into a pressure. And I have to do it. It really doesn't take that much brain work because if you keep working with him you would get.
Better. And it just. Fits in. But you do intend to go on then and make this your profession. You know. My present plans which might change I don't know. But they planned. For me to go into college and to graduate as a geological engineer. And what would you do a logical engineer. Do then I'm sure you could branch out in many ways but the possibilities. Well I was a geological engineer my basic job would be to. Plan A. Excavation of a certain area or share to. Determine how. What I was I should be. And this is what I was struck. Probably due to Spencer's. Traffic. I want to get in with a company that I can travel with and not really tied down that price.
Scholarships have different kinds of vailable for students such as Larry and they come from many sources. Also many scholarships available to more advanced students and scholarship of particular interest to rock bands is that offered by the American Federation of mineral societies discussing this is Mr. Russell camp a past president of the Midwestern Federation of mineral societies. Now let's get down to the real reason for a bit and that is to encourage young people to prepare themselves in high school for that Kylie Jenner university years. And because we are talking about rock hounding we should be thinking in terms of their preparation in the field of geology and mineralogy crystallography paleontology and of course some of the newer sciences that have become very popular in great demand. You know physics chemistry and geo biology
along with oceanography is becoming more and more of interest. Young people today have a great advantage in that. Industry has become more and more aware of their need for technical people in these fields and they are encouraging the young people to get in to educate themselves along these lines. We mention industry and I think you will find that firms like the American oil company and many of the other oil companies Union Carbide Dow Chemical and the chemical in the chemical field are so interested in seeing people prepare themselves in these fields that they are willing to provide grants for their education. Normally this doesn't seem to happen until they have passed their second year in college or in their university. And because by this time they feel that
the student is definitely going to carry through in his chosen course. I think that if you went right to the various oil companies and chemical companies. Your listeners would be able to get information about the grants and the scholarships that are offered. Actually most of the schools the state schools and the universities provide services under their supervision of their director of student aides and awards whereby to students of good standing good can be aided in securing financial assistance in normally one of three forms either part time employment loans or scholarships. I think most of the schools recommend that freshman students do not work off the campus their first year if it can be avoided and many are able to obtain campus employment which will not interfere with their
academic progress. The schools can help people who have not a scholarship available by arranging for them to get part time work. And of course the government and some of the schools also have a loans available for the young people. The United States Department of Interior I understand has a list of scholarships that are awarded each year for people that are interested in going into conservation work work for the government in the National Forest the national parks in the field of geology and paleontology. People often ask what do we do after we have a degree in geology or mineralogy or paleontology and they seem to have the feeling that all that is open to them is academic teaching or working in museums and things of this tight.
And they forget that even in this age of jet airplanes and rockets to the moon there are still much you civilized and well educated men whose jobs require them to camp out with the Eskimos and hike across deserts. Paddle canoes up jungle waterways and even occasionally still get shot at by savage arrows. These men who still explore the frontiers of this earth are geologists searching for oil and minerals in the remote corners of the world. So for people who have an adventurous spirit and wish to work out in the field and to enjoy the great outdoors and traveling around the world geology and mineralogy trial and offer a great and vast experience for them you know has been said that a geologist must be first an explorer and a first aid expert. And I don't mechanic a public speaker a scholar a
linguist and an international goodwill ambassador. And it would help if he were immune to snakebite and to all tropical diseases. But normally he doesn't. But above all he must keep a sense of humor successfully to survive all the various experiences he will undergo during his life as a geologist. You have won some of your previous programs discussed the fact that there are in this United States over 900 clubs of of rockhound that there are over 55000 people in this country who are interested in rock counting and belong to these clubs. And these clubs are all under what we call the American Federation of mineral societies and the American Federation is broken down into six regional federations and eastern Federation Midwest Federation Rocky Mountain
Texas California and Northwestern. These six federations along with the American Federation several years ago decided to establish a scholarship foundation and the foundation was incorporated as a tax exempt organization. The objective of the foundation was to accumulate a fund and only the income from the fund to be used to finance scholarships. In other words the principle can never be touched. Hence the usefulness of the fund has perpetual and will continue forever. Each year since 1965 one student has received two annual grants to help and achieving a master's degree he and any of the earth science subjects. As the fund and the income
from it increased the grants were increased so that this year there will be two $500 grants given for a two year period. Two students who are working towards their master's degree in as we said before one of the fields of the Earth sciences. I want to grants are restricted to graduate students mainly to avoid wasting our money on students who are not committed to or science subjects. Any student working towards his master's degree as breezy was presumed to have definitely decided to follow Banfield rez lifetime vocation insofar as such a decision is possible since our joint interests lie in that same field grants have been restricted to the earth science students. Now these students are chosen each year by a very unique message method. The foundations are
involved. Each you here pick a person of national prominence in the Earth's science field and give this person the right and the honor of selecting two students to receive our awards. This indirect method serves our purpose perfectly in that it benefits a needy student and avoids the end warmest task and expense of receiving setting and evaluating applications from hundreds or thousands of applicants which would otherwise be necessary if selection were made by ourselves in a conventional manner. Our foundation is just one of many in the country that makes scholarships available to students without having an approved need. Regarding schools there are many good universities throughout the country that lend themselves to teaching
academic courses in the earth sciences field. I mentioned several. The Colorado School of Mines is very highly rated as it is the University of Missouri at Rolla and d school of South Dakota School of Mines. In addition almost all states have a school of mines or 80 partment where geology is taught in their state universities. We have found in traveling during the vacation time that many of the students who are looking for part time work and who wish to further their education at the same time that they're earning money apply to the state parks and the national park systems and they work in the lodges and work. At the parks during the summer time this is both educational and healthful and I believe that for most state parks the young people have to be 17
years of age in the national parks. They must be 18 years of age to apply. Now these aren't high paying jobs but they are jobs where the pay is fair and the young people have an opportunity of studying the outdoors along with the natural as the park rangers and the park wardens. There are many people who have gone on from the beginning interested in rocks as young people do the teaching profession in the fields of the Earth sciences to museum curators to authors of books about geology mineralogy. To prospecting and helping our government find new fields of uranium and vanadium an important minerals and chemicals. So that we feel that this is a very definitely the feel of the Earth
sciences field is very definitely a field in which young people should be encouraged to study and to grow in these fields. These are not dead sciences. These are sciences that are very much alive today and are becoming more and more needed by our economy and our country. I certainly hope that many of your listeners will become interested in these videos. We will go on to study in these videos and it's someday we will hear of their accomplishments nationally and internationally. That was Mr. Reza camp of Illinois. Mr. Camp is a past president of the Midwestern Federation of mineral societies. He was speaking of the opportunities available to students wishing to pursue careers in the Earth Sciences an area of great interest to rock hounds.
This has been another in the series of programs exploring the world of the rock around. The narrator was an anvil mysteriousness produced by WBL and the saviors of the public library of Nashville in Davidson County and Nashville Tennessee. Next week Mrs. folk will discuss the fascinating aspects of this hobby and a program entitled. Amber's gem of the ages. This is Charles Mitchell. This program was distributed by the national educational radio network.
Series
World of the Rockhound
Episode Number
23
Producing Organization
WPLN
Contributing Organization
University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/500-b27pst2c
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/500-b27pst2c).
Description
Series Description
World of the Rockhound is a twenty-four part program about rock collecting produced by WPLN, the service of the public library of Nashville and Davidson County, and Nashville, Tennessee. Episodes focus on topics specific to rock hounding, like collecting, cutting, displaying, and creating artwork from rocks, gemstones, and fossils. The program also discusses broader topics related to geology, like earth science, consumer interests, and professional uses of rocks and minerals.
Genres
Documentary
Topics
Education
Environment
Nature
Science
Antiques and Collectibles
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:30:21
Embed Code
Copy and paste this HTML to include AAPB content on your blog or webpage.
Credits
Producing Organization: WPLN
AAPB Contributor Holdings
University of Maryland
Identifier: 69-42-3 (National Association of Educational Broadcasters)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Duration: 00:27:40
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
Citations
Chicago: “World of the Rockhound; 23,” University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-b27pst2c.
MLA: “World of the Rockhound; 23.” University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-b27pst2c>.
APA: World of the Rockhound; 23. Boston, MA: University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-b27pst2c