Although arrivals in Rochester were initially greeted by lingering recent snow, with winter’s last breath still upon us, a few signs of spring were beginning to show in this part of the world. And yet once the mineral fun starts, who cares what the weather is doing? [Note to Mother Nature: that is not a dare for next year’s Symposium. I mean unless you want to rain fine mineral specimens.] This post is all about this year’s super Rochester Mineralogical Symposium.

After a long, harsh northern winter, most people in this part of the world look to the arrival of the red-winged blackbirds and robins, buds and flowers to mark the arrival of spring. But let’s be honest, spring only truly arrives with “Rochester” (the annual Rochester Mineralogical Symposium). Rochester is for people who love minerals and mineral collecting – if you’d like to see more about this year’s symposium (including photographs from the presenters), I hope you’ll enjoy this post.