Kay Robertson Educational Display Awards

History of the Award

Beginning in 1999, the Friends of Mineralogy sponsored an “Educational Display” recognition at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® (TGMS) for exhibits which help explain an aspect of mineralogy. This award was suggested and financially supported by Kay Robertson, one of the stalwarts of Friends of Mineralogy. In Kay’s words, the awarded cases would “…not only show beautiful minerals… but add some special feature that will teach something. It may be historically interesting, etc. It should be unrestricted as to subject matter, but must also be aesthetically pleasing to the general public so as not to detract from the high standard of the TGMS Show.”

Beginning in 2013, the recognition of educational display cases was extended to the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.

Beginning in 2017, monetary awards were provided to both institutional and non-institutional exhibits at both the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.

In 2020, the name was changed to the “Kay Robertson Educational Display Awards” to honor Kay Robertson for her support over the years.

About the Award

Instructive cases help the hobby grow and underline its scientific basis. Exhibitors at Tucson and Denver, both individuals and institutions, are asked to consider an educational approach to their cases. There is no restriction on the subject of the display; it does not need to follow the show theme. In keeping with the high standards of the TGMS and DGMS, the case should be aesthetically pleasing and contain specimens worthy of the show. Included specimens need not be expensive or ‘competitive quality,’ however, the contents of the case must collectively illustrate an educational theme regarding science, history, or another element of minerals or mineral collecting.

Two certificates are awarded, one for non-institutional displays and one for institutions, and the winners are honored at the Saturday night banquet.

  • A non-institutional display is defined as a display organized or arranged by an individual private collector or group of individuals exhibiting from their own privately- or internally-funded collections (i.e., a single private collector or a group of individual collectors working together on a cohesive display).
  • An institutional display is defined as a display organized or arranged by an institution, which is a group exhibiting from publicly- or externally-funded collections (i.e., museums, corporations, 501(c)(3) charitable organizations).

Guidelines for Judging

Labeling

Labels do not need to follow a set format, but should be reflective of the subject of the case and should include all necessary information to address that subject. (The aesthetic appeal of the labeling is judged as a part of the showmanship of the display; specific misinformation is judged as part of the educational value of the display.)

  • Accuracy of label information, including mislabeling or typos
  • Consistency of label information
  • Legibility of information

Showmanship

Showmanship reflects the overall visual impact of a display case:

  •  Material exhibited: relevant and engaging specimens that effectively convey the educational theme of the case
    • A case of very aesthetic specimens need not be given greater weight. The judging should give greater weight to the educational content of the case and the effectiveness of the presentation (ex. a case discussing ore samples or a historic mine may not contain a single “aesthetic” specimen, but might demonstrate an engaging educational theme).
  • Labels: neatness, clarity and consistency in design
  • Overall impression: neatness, organization/composition of all elements, effective selection/usage of display features (cloth, lighting, etc.), effective use of visual aids (photos, graphs, maps, drawings, etc.)

Educational Value

Educational value is defined as the clarity and effectiveness of the exhibit in conveying educational content about the subject to which it pertains. Educational exhibits do not need to be tailored to suit all audiences (ex. a case addressing an introductory topic is not penalized for not containing more advanced information, likewise for an advanced case without introductory information), but a case that successfully provides educational information for a wide audience (ex. including BOTH introductory and advanced information) should receive particular consideration.
Aspects for consideration of educational value include:

  • Accuracy
  • Consistency
  • Organization
  • Information from outside sources is properly referenced

Other factors for consideration

As educational cases can span a wide variety of subjects and approaches, a variety of other factors may be presented that can be weighed into the outcome of the award. Cases that present a unique subject or present a common subject in an original way may receive further accolades under this consideration.

Previous Winners

Friends of Mineralogy 2024 Tucson Awards

  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2024 – Non-Institutional, Hannah Brodhagen, “Journey of a Gemstone”
  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2024 – Institutional, Maine Mineral & Gem Museum, “Introduction to Pegmatites” (Exhibition of Seven Cases)

Friends of Mineralogy 2023 Denver Awards

  • Best Educational Cases, Denver, 2023 – Non-Institutional, Donna Ware and Jeff Self, “Historic Miner’s Lamps, from candles, lamp oil, kerosene safety lamps to carbide gas lamps”
  • Best Educational Cases, Denver, 2022 – Institutional, Denver Museum of Nature and Science “Titillating Topaz”

Friends of Mineralogy 2023 Tucson Awards

  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2023 – Non-Institutional, John Rakovan, “Sheet silicates: Inquiring minds want to know what’s going on between the sheets”
  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2023 – Institutional, Rice Museum of Rocks & Minerals, Hillsboro, Oregon, “Oregon Thunder Eggs”

Friends of Mineralogy 2022 Denver Awards

  • Best Educational Cases, Denver, 2022 – Non-Institutional, Colorado Meteorite Society, “Comets” as an acronym for the Collecting asteroids by collecting Colorado [Colorado meteorites] display. The case was organized by Gary Curtiss with specimens loaned for display by Gary Curtiss, Anne Black, and Matt Morgan.
  • Best Educational Cases, Denver, 2022 – Institutional, American Museum of Natural History, New York City for the theme “Colorado Pseudomorphs”

Friends of Mineralogy 2022 Tucson Awards

  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2022 – Non-Institutional, Best Non-Institutional Educational Display Award, John Rakovan, PhD, for “Apatite: The collection of John Rakovan”
  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2022 – Institutional, The Sherman Dugan Museum of Geology, San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico, for “Minerals used as paint Pigments”

Friends of Mineralogy 2021 Denver Awards

  • Best Educational Cases, Tucson, 2021 – Non-Institutional, Philip Persson , “Fluorite: A Historical Perspective”, plus Judy and Ron Knoshaug’s display on “Mineral Classifications by [the] American Federation of Mineralogical Societies”

Friends of Mineralogy 2020 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2020 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2020 – Non-Institutional, The collective cases that comprise the Young Mineral Collectors group (YMC)
  • Best Educational Cases, Tucson, 2020 – Institutional, Gemological Institute of America (GIA) for “the science behind world class diamonds”

Friends of Mineralogy 2019 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2019 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2019 – Non-Institutional, Philip Simmons and Erin Delventhal for “different generations of fluorite that formed at Cookes Peak and the differences in crystal morphology and color”
  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2019 – Institutional, A. E. Seaman Museum at Michigan Technological University, Houghton for “how wulfenite forms with examples of wulfenite and other metallic minerals that were also formed by oxidation”

Friends of Mineralogy 2018 Denver Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.  The winners at the 2018 Denver Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2018 – Individual, Stanley Korzeb for “Supergene Mineralization Processes and the Generation of Common to Rare Minerals”
  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2018 – Institutional, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia for “Magnificent Mexico”

Friends of Mineralogy 2018 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2018 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2018 – Non-Institutional, Chuck Houser for calcite exhibiting three crystal forms including four twin laws and cave forms
  • Best Educational Case, Tucson, 2018 – Institutional,  Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, California for “Form and Function” display with biological calcite forms similar to brittle stars, environmental forms such as calcite pseudomorphs of ‘glendonites’, and industrial uses like zeolites in water softening

Friends of Mineralogy 2017 Denver Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.  The winners at the 2017 Denver Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2017 – Individual, Anne M. Black for “Meteorites: Worth More than Gold”
  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2017 – Institutional, Western Museum of Mining and Industry, Colorado Springs for 11 cases “documenting the origin of gold in the ground, its historical extraction and processing to its final refined product using modern processes”

Friends of Mineralogy 2017 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2017 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2017 – non-institutional, META  (Minerals Enthusiasts of the Tucson Area), participants: Bill Besse, John & Karen Cesar, Jean & Michelle des Rivieres, the Graeme family, Mike & Mary Jaworski, Jim & Imelda Klein, Peter & Allison Megaw, Lauren Megaw, Barbara Muntyan, Marcus Origlieri, Ron & Peggy Pellar, Alex & Laura Schauss, Gene & Jackie Schlepp, Frank & Pat Sousa, Marshall Sussman, and Wendell & Carolyn Wilson) for “Crystal and Crystal Forms: A foreshadowing of the 2018 TGMS show theme”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2017 – Institutional, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D. C. for “Minerals of the Tri-State_District”

Friends of Mineralogy 2016 Denver Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.  The winners at the 2016 Denver Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2016 – Individual, Anne Black and John Kashuba for “Meteorite Types”
  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2016 – Institutional, Montana Tech Mineral Museum, Butte, Montana for “Montana Sapphires”

Friends of Mineralogy 2016 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2016 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2016 – Individual, David Kalins for “Garnets: Just About Every Color Including Blue”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2016 – Institutional, Fersman Mineralogical Museum RAS (Moscow, Russia) for “Fifteen Shades of Blue”

Friends of Mineralogy 2015 Denver Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.  The winners at the 2015 Denver Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2015 – Individual, Evan Jones for “Arizona Native Copper”
  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2015 – Institutional, Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum for “Minerals of the Southwestern U.S.A.”

Friends of Mineralogy 2015 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2015 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2015 – Individual, Eric Asselborn for “Sucres: Crystals with the habit called sucre or sugar are also geschlossen gwindel or closed gwindel”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2015 – Institutional, Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals, Portland, Oregon for “Lead Minerals”

Friends of Mineralogy 2014 Denver Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.  The winners at the 2014 Denver Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2014 – Individual, Denver Gem and Mineral Guild for “Beta (β) Quartz – Colorado’s own “NADA Diamonds””
  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2014 – Institutional, Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals for “Anatomy of a Thunderegg”

Friends of Mineralogy 2014 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2013 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2014 – Individual, David Kalins for “Diamonds: Diversity in Forms and Colors”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2014 – Institutional, Mineral Museum of Bonn, Germany for “Treasures of Gold and Gemstones from the River Rhine”

Friends of Mineralogy 2013 Denver Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.  The winners at the 2013 Denver Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2013 – Individual, Richard Tripp for “What is a Concretion/ What is a Geode?” (2 cases)
  • Best Educational Case, Denver, 2013 – Institutional, California Academy of Sciences for “What does it mean to be a tourmaline?”

Friends of Mineralogy 2013 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2013 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2013 – Individual, Ellen Alexander for “Happy 200th Birthday – James Dwight Dana”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2013 – Institutional, Nathural History Museum – Los Angeles for “Fluorite Fun Facts”

Friends of Mineralogy 2012 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2012 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2012 – Individual, R. Reynolds for “The Wulfenite Story”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2012 – Institutional, California Academy of Sciences for “Size Matters”

Friends of Mineralogy 2011 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2011 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2011 – Individual, Robert Morgan
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2011 – Institutional, Louisiana State University

Friends of Mineralogy 2010 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2011 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2010 – Individual, George Gebhard
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2010 – Institutional, California Academy of Sciences

Friends of Mineralogy 2009 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2009 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2009 – Individual, Stretch & Lynn Young
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2009 – Institutional, Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Friends of Mineralogy 2008 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2008 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2008 – Individual, Dr, Georg Gebhard, – “Silver” – A very clever and artistic presentation of silver oxidation (the moon waning) and chemical combinations
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2008 – Institutional, Gemological Institute of America (GIA) – “George F. Kunz and his contribution to the gem and mineral literature of North America”

Friends of Mineralogy 2007 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2007 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2007 – Individual, Georg Gebhard, – “From the Blue into the Green”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2007 – Institutional, California State Mining and Mineral Museum, California State Parks – “Placer Mining”

Friends of Mineralogy 2006 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2006 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2006 – Individual, Members of Cleveland Mineralogical Society – Synthetic Minerals
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2006 – Institutional, California State Mining and Mineral Museum, California State Parks – JADE

Friends of Mineralogy 2005 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2005 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2005– Individual, Members of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland – “Surprise Endings”, an exploration of the types of overgrowths and terminations on minerals
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2005 – Institutional, California Academy of Sciences – “Am I Blue?”.  A discussion of the cause of blue colors in minerals and geological materials

Friends of Mineralogy 2004 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2004 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2004– Individual, Jesse Fisher and Joan Kureczka
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2004 – Institutional, Houston Museum of Natural Science

Friends of Mineralogy 2003 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2003 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2003– Individual, Georg Gebhard – “Two famous Andean Ore Deposits”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2003 – Institutional, Virginia Tech – “Pyrite ‘Disease’”

Friends of Mineralogy 2002 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2002 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2002– Individual, Chuck Houser – “Calcite Twins”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2002 – Institutional, Cincinnati Natural History Museum – “Encrustation Pseudomorphs”

Friends of Mineralogy 2001 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2001 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2001– Individual, Jack Thompson – “Quartz”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2001 – Institutional, Colorado School of Mines – “Mineral Fakes”

Friends of Mineralogy 2000 Tucson Awards

The Friends of Mineralogy presented the awards at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 2000 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2000– Individual, Si and Ann Frazier – “Quartz Pseudomorphs”
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 2000 – Institutional, California Academy of Sciences – “Refractive Index”

Friends of Mineralogy 1999 Tucson Awards

Beginning in 1999 at the 1999  Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® the Friends of Mineralogy sponsored “Educational Display” recognition at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® (TGMS) for exhibits which help explain an aspect of mineralogy.  This new award was presented  at the Saturday night banquet of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®.  The winners at the 1999 Tucson Show were:

  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 1999– Individual, Mary Murphy – “Mineral Books”.
  • Best Educational Case, TGMS, 1999 – Institutional, University of Bonn Mineral Museum – “History of German Mining Districts”