MSA MEETING PROGRAM - VIA ZOOM

“Behind the Scenes of the New UA Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum”
Presented by Mr. Eric Fritz

MSA November meeting is virtual via ZOOM.

Our November 19th program will be presented by Eric Fritz, “Behind the Scenes of the New UA Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum.”

The museum exhibit buildout will be moving into the final month as we prepare this presentation. Join us for a sneak peek of the progress and layout of a world class mineral museum, just down the road. Through the help of museum designers Ralph Applebaum and Associates in New York, we have created a unique narrative of Mineral Evolution. Our solar system began with around 60 shared minerals among all of the solid celestial bodies. Earth alone has evolved into 5400 and counting. This thread is woven around geologic processes through the first gallery showcasing worldwide and extraterrestrial mineral specimens. The second gallery explores the history of mining in Arizona through an amazing diversity of mineral specimens, including our southern neighbor, Mexico. The final gallery introduces gem science, man’s interaction and artistic interpretation of beautiful rocks and minerals.

Here is a link to our latest newsletter:
https://mailchi.mp/23ef0414a6e0/alfie-norville-summer-newsletter?e=55c9cd796d

Eric Fritz, FGA, DGA is the manager of The University of Arizona Gem and Mineral Museum. The current role is to develop and transition the existing museum to the historic Pima County Courthouse facility. Eric will interface with the University, Pima County and the architects to build a world class facility for the collections as well as a research arm for mineralogy and gemology research

Prior to this role, he was Manager-North America for Gem-A, the Gemmological Association of Great Britain, holding both colored stone and diamond designations. Lab instruction, seminars and workshops are provided to students and the gem and jewelry industry. Eric has a degree in Zoology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The Zoology degree leads to a passion for pearls and other organic gem materials, which are Eric’s specialty. As a youth, He collected shells on the seashore and noticed at an early age the ability for pearl formation as a free pearl or as a protrusion of the shell, what we now refer to as Mabe or blister pearls. An obsessive shell collection now resides beside the minerals and gemstones.