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All That Glitters at Cuyamaca College

One year ago I took a class at Cuyamaca College about identifying San Diego County rocks and gems. It lasts 6 weeks and meets on Saturdays for field trips around the county mining and collecting precious stones like garnets, tourmaline and quartz. The teacher's name is Bob, he has a lifetime of rock hunting experience that he is willing to share through stories and his exstensive collection of specimens. After taking this class I was interested in seeing the "All That Glitters" exhibit in The Natural History Museum. So off we go to Balboa Park.

We entered the museum and payed at the ticket counter, walked past the swinging pendulum and into an area way too dark for displaying gemstones. "Is this the All That Glitters exhibit?" I asked out loud as I spotted a giant, live iguana in an aquarium on the floor. A lizard loving museum patron suggested downstairs. I couldn't see any signs or clues leading to the shiny stones on display. Finally after walking down several, wide flights of stairs I found the the treasures buried in what seemed like the basement.

The exhibit is smaller than I was expecting. It included old and new jewelry and artwork. The cut and polished stones were arranged in a rainbow of colors. Behind a wall of glass a collection of man-made stones glint and shine like perfect replicas of their man-mined counterparts. A huge boulder of jade is like a magnet to curious hands. Touching is usually prohibited in museums but some stones here are meant for feeling their smooth, cold surfaces.

The small class at Cuyamaca gathered on Thursday nights to learn from Bob and pass around his amazing collection. The stones passed through our hands in a very un- museum-like way, dropping tiny, cut stones on the old classroom carpet. Bob used old, cardboard egg cartons to store and organize his collection. The egg cartons are Bob's Dewey Decimal system for stones. He would stand by his overhead projector and describe the contents before passing them around the class. He had rough and polished stones of all kinds and from all places. On Saturday field trips you could find Bob on the ground sifting through dirt while telling rock hunting stories. An audience of eager amatuers circled around listening for his tricks of the trade.

The trip to "All That Glitters" is worth it, especially if you use a coupon. The class at Cuyamaca College is unforgettable and inspiring.

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One year ago I took a class at Cuyamaca College about identifying San Diego County rocks and gems. It lasts 6 weeks and meets on Saturdays for field trips around the county mining and collecting precious stones like garnets, tourmaline and quartz. The teacher's name is Bob, he has a lifetime of rock hunting experience that he is willing to share through stories and his exstensive collection of specimens. After taking this class I was interested in seeing the "All That Glitters" exhibit in The Natural History Museum. So off we go to Balboa Park.

We entered the museum and payed at the ticket counter, walked past the swinging pendulum and into an area way too dark for displaying gemstones. "Is this the All That Glitters exhibit?" I asked out loud as I spotted a giant, live iguana in an aquarium on the floor. A lizard loving museum patron suggested downstairs. I couldn't see any signs or clues leading to the shiny stones on display. Finally after walking down several, wide flights of stairs I found the the treasures buried in what seemed like the basement.

The exhibit is smaller than I was expecting. It included old and new jewelry and artwork. The cut and polished stones were arranged in a rainbow of colors. Behind a wall of glass a collection of man-made stones glint and shine like perfect replicas of their man-mined counterparts. A huge boulder of jade is like a magnet to curious hands. Touching is usually prohibited in museums but some stones here are meant for feeling their smooth, cold surfaces.

The small class at Cuyamaca gathered on Thursday nights to learn from Bob and pass around his amazing collection. The stones passed through our hands in a very un- museum-like way, dropping tiny, cut stones on the old classroom carpet. Bob used old, cardboard egg cartons to store and organize his collection. The egg cartons are Bob's Dewey Decimal system for stones. He would stand by his overhead projector and describe the contents before passing them around the class. He had rough and polished stones of all kinds and from all places. On Saturday field trips you could find Bob on the ground sifting through dirt while telling rock hunting stories. An audience of eager amatuers circled around listening for his tricks of the trade.

The trip to "All That Glitters" is worth it, especially if you use a coupon. The class at Cuyamaca College is unforgettable and inspiring.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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