Oklahoma Geological Survey Opens for Office Hours

In September, the Oklahoma Geological Survey opened its doors for its first Geologist Office Hours. Members of the public came to the Oklahoma Geological Survey office at Sarkeys Energy Center to have rock, fossil and mineral specimens identified. It was a success and is now a monthly event!

At the Oklahoma Geological Survey, we receive queries from the public on a daily basis. Perhaps they’ve found an interesting rock on their property or have a beautiful mineral or fossil that once belonged to a grandparent. While we try to answer the questions as best we can over the phone or through email correspondence, identification is more accurate in person. To help better serve the community, the Oklahoma Geological Survey has started a new monthly program: Geologist Office Hours! Once a month, we’re opening our doors for members of the public to come and meet with geologists to help identify rocks, minerals and fossils.

At our first Office Hours, we saw 11 people and helped identify a variety of specimens. The highlights were a stalactite shaped exactly like a human femur, an ammonite from the Cretaceous Period, and a beautiful green mineral called prehnite in botryoidal form (like a bunch of grapes). Someone also brought in a specimen, presumed to be a meteorite, that has been in his family for generations. We are currently analyzing the sample using the Electron Microprobe Laboratory at the Oklahoma Geological Survey, but we hypothesize the sample may be a chunk of a cannonball.

Do you know someone with a rock, mineral or fossil that needs to be identified?