On Sunday, November 20th, the Stockton Geology Club sponsored a trip to the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in Ogdensburg, NJ. The trip was partially covered by the club, with members attending having to contribute $5 toward their tour fee. Transportation was provided, and we disembarked from the Arts and Sciences building by 7:45 am.

During the drive up, we wound up running further into the system that dropped a few flakes at Stockton. By the time we reached Sterling Hill, about 2-3 inches had accumulated, and, naturally, snowball guerrilla warfare soon ensued. Not even the accompanying professor was safe. After things calmed down a bit, we were treated to a tour of the museum and the uppermost level of one of the zinc mines on the site. The tour included descriptions of the geologic formations and processes visible at the mine as well as demonstrations of the equipment used when the mine was active. The history of the mine was also covered as part of the tour, as well as some of the fluorescent minerals found in the mine, which include willemite (a zinc ore) and calcite (calcium carbonate mineral), which respectively glow green and orange under an ultraviolet light. There was also an opportunity for guests to collect their own samples at the surface, and a gift shop with a number of small fossils, fluorescent mineral samples and crystals available. I wound up leaving with a trilobite and a sample that included willemite, calcite and franklinite (another zinc ore).

Our time at Sterling Hill concluded by about 2 pm, so we reassembled at the school vans and began the 2-1/2-hour drive home. We returned to campus around 4:30-5:00 and some club members went out for food soon after our return. I, personally, went back to my dorm.