The Friends of Mineralogy (FM), formed at Tucson, Arizona on February 13, 1970, operates on a national level and also through regional chapters. It is open to membership by all. FM’s objectives are to promote, support, protect and expand the collection of mineral specimens and to further the recognition of the scientific, economic and aesthetic value of minerals and collecting mineral specimens.
FM has a long association with The Mineralogical Record. It helps produce locality indexes for specimen mineral localities published in Rocks and Minerals, and is co-sponsor, with the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society (TGMS) and the Mineralogical Society of America (MSA), of the annual Tucson Mineralogical Symposia. Among its activities it sponsors awards for best articles each calendar year in The Mineralogical Record, Rocks & Minerals, Mineral News, and MINERAL Monograph and gives special recognition at the February Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® for exhibits which help explain an aspect of mineralogy.
The Friends of Mineralogy is affiliated with the American Geosciences Institute and the Mineralogical Society of America, as well as with Rocks and Minerals, and The Mineralogical Record. Both of these magazines provide FM space and publish news of its activities from time-to-time. FM in turn supports these magazines in various endeavors.
Educational Cases at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show and Tucson Gem and Mineral Show®
Beginning in 1999 the Friends of Mineralogy sponsored non-monetary “Educational Display” recognition at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show® (TGMS) for cases which help explain an aspect of mineralogy. There is no restriction on the theme, but the case should have some special instructive feature. In keeping with the high standards of the TGMS, the case should be aesthetically pleasing and contain specimens worthy of the show. Two certificates are awarded, one for private collections and one for institutions, and the winners are honored at the Saturday night banquet and on a plaque in the FM case. Instructive cases help the hobby grow and underline its scientific basis. Exhibitors at Tucson, both individuals and institutions, are asked to consider seriously such a feature for their cases. This award was suggested and financially supported by Kay Robertson, one of the stalwarts of Friends of Mineralogy.
In 2013, the recognition of educational display cases was extended to the Denver Gem and Mineral Show.