Newsletter | Calendar of Events

Calendar of Events

Sun Mar 3 1

Easter Sunday Closed

We will be closed Sunday March 32st in observance of Easter. We will resume our normal hours on Tuesday April 2nd at 10:00 a.m. Hoppy Easter!

Sat Apr 1 3

Rock and Mineral ID Class

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Geologist Sara Kurth teaches the techniques for rock and mineral identification. Learn to identify minerals through basic hands-on identification including observation skills and hardness tests. Great for rockhounds and scouts, this class completes the earth science badges for Cub and Boy Scouts. An optional kit is available for purchase, but not required for the class.

Class – 10:30 a.m – 75 minutes
Ages 8 yrs. and up
$10 per person – Museum Members Free
Reservations Required – Register here

Sat Apr 1 3

Rockin’ Jewelry for Kids

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Children can make their own gemstone jewelry with the Rockin’ Jewelry for kids. Learn to make a necklace, a keychain, and a pin. All materials included in individual kits. After the class, tour the Museum and complete a scavenger hunt. Completes the Jewelry Badge for Girl Scouts.

Activity  – 1:30 p.m – 45 minutes
Ages 8 yrs. and up
$15 per person
Museum Members receive 10%
Discount with code

Reservations Required – Register here

Sun Apr 1 4

Community Music Program: Bravura Ensemble

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Spirito Singers’ high school treble ensemble, Bravura, is thrilled to present Where the Light Begins, a concert that tells the story of hope in the face of grief and joy in the face of despair. It will feature music from around the globe and across the centuries. Bravura singers hail from dozens of communities across Chicagoland, and the ensemble has performed with the Joffrey Ballet, the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest, and at Carnegie Hall.

Performance – 2:00 p.m. – 60 minutes – Ages 10 years and Up
$15 per person – Museum Members Free
Limited Capacity – Reservations Required
Register here

Sat Apr 2 7

West Suburban Lapidary Club Meeting

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Interested in the lapidary arts? Find out more at the WSLC meetings at the Museum. The Club will host a program each month, including presentations, demonstrations, and information on cutting and polishing stones! Programs to be announced.

Club Meeting 1 p.m.
Program @ 2 p.m. – 60 minute
Teens to Adults Welcome
Regular Museum Admission
WSLC & Museum Members Free
Register here

Sun May 0 5

Chicago Mosaic School: A Contemporary Perspective

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

The Chicago Mosaic School is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of mosaic education. Join us as members of the school present a lecture on the world of mosaics and their mission to support learning and share expertise, all while developing the medium within a contemporary context.

Lecture – 2:00 p.m – 60 minutes
Students & Adults
Regular Museum Admission
Museum Members Free

Reservations Recommended
Sign up
 here

Sat May 1 1

Cicada Invasion: Cicadas in Society, History, and Art

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

This year is a record year for the cicada emergence with two different broods (13 year and 17 year) emerging together over the central Illinois region. The next time these brood emergences coincide will be 2245! Learn about these periodical cicadas, their unique biology, and ecological impact. The lecture will also discuss the symbolism of cicadas in Chinese culture and the Museum’s collection. Presented by Donald Baumgartner, a Medical Entomologist employed at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Chicago.

Lecture – 2:00 p.m – 60 minutes
Students & Adults
Regular Museum Admission
Museum Members Free

Reservations Recommended
Sign up
 here

Sat May 1 8

Rock and Mineral ID Class

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Geologist Sara Kurth teaches the techniques for rock and mineral identification. Learn to identify minerals through basic hands-on identification including observation skills and hardness tests. Great for rockhounds and scouts, this class completes the earth science badges for Cub and Boy Scouts. An optional kit is available for purchase, but not required for the class.

Class – 10:30 a.m – 75 minutes
Ages 8 yrs. and up
$10 per person – Museum Members Free
Reservations Required – Register here

Sat May 1 8

Rockin’ Jewelry for Kids

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Children can make their own gemstone jewelry with the Rockin’ Jewelry for kids. Learn to make a necklace, a keychain, and a pin. All materials included in individual kits. After the class, tour the Museum and complete a scavenger hunt. Completes the Jewelry Badge for Girl Scouts.

Activity  – 1:30 p.m – 45 minutes
Ages 8 yrs. and up
$15 per person
Museum Members receive 10%
Discount with code

Reservations Required – Register here

Sat Jun 0 8

Carved Gems: Inspiration & Expertise

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Helen Serras-Herman, acclaimed gem artist with over 40 years of experience, will be demonstrating her gem carving techniques and the tools she prefers to use. Helen will discuss the essential gem carving procedures, lapidary steps, and workmanship quality factors to look for in a gem carving. She will also do a short reading from her recently published book “Carved Gems – Inspiration & Expertise.”

Lecture – 2:00 p.m – 60 minutes
Students & Adults
Regular Museum Admission
Museum Members Free

Reservations Recommended
Sign up
 here

Sun Jun 2 3

Rocks on the Beach: Geology 101 in Sandals

Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art
1220 Kensington Road, Oak Brook, IL 60523

Beachcombing for rocks along the shores of Lake Michigan is not only fun, but also serves as a study into the geologic story of the Great Lakes region. Discover how sedimentary limestone containing fossils indicate that the Midwest was once a tropical ocean; and learn how the igneous and metamorphic rocks show the movement of glaciers during the Ice Age. Join Dave Dolak for this presentation and better appreciate your next stroll along the beaches of Lake Michigan.

Lecture – 2:00 p.m – 60 minutes
Students & Adults
Regular Museum Admission
Museum Members Free

Reservations Recommended
Sign up
 here

Special Exhibit
The Richard H. Driehaus Lapidary Collection
Extended through August 31, 2024

Chicago philanthropist Richard Driehaus left a rich legacy of art objects to his Foundation. The Lizzadro Museum is the recipient of his lapidary collection including a variety of unique stone objects from around the world and two 19th century Roman micromosaics on loan.

Regular Museum Admission – Regular Museum Hours

Pop-Up Presentation

Saturday May 11
Cicada Invasion: Cicadas in Society, History, and Art
This year is a record year for the cicada emergence with two different broods (13 year and 17 year) emerging together over the central Illinois region. The next time these brood emergences coincide will be 2245! Learn about these periodical cicadas, their unique biology, and ecological impact. The lecture will also discuss the symbolism of cicadas in Chinese culture and the Museum’s collection. Presented by Donald Baumgartner, a Medical Entomologist employed at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Chicago.
Lecture – 2:00 p.m. – 60 minutes
Students and Adults – Regular Museum Admission – Museum Members Free
Reservations Recommended – Sign up here

Calcite: The All-Seeing Mineral

By Sara Kurth

Blue calcite pair with staff.

As you enter the Special Exhibit Hall, you can’t miss the pair of blue calcite slabs on display. This impressive specimen was donated from the Richard H. Driehaus Lapidary Collection to the Lizzadro Museum in 2023. Discovered in an Argentinian mine, this specimen comes by its color naturally – it has not been treated to enhance coloration. Blue calcite is only found in a few places on earth, most notably Mexico and South Africa. The color comes from trace amounts of impurities present while the mineral was forming. The mine this piece originated from has only a small vein of blue calcite, making this piece rare as well as unique for its size. Although the slab has been cut and polished, the edges were left in their natural state to show the original boulder form.

While the Blue Calcite on display is rare and unique, the mineral calcite, a calcium carbonate, is a very common mineral. It can be found in over 300 crystal variations. It is the main component of the limestone bedrock in our area. Calcite also makes up shells and bones. Calcite composes a significant portion (about 4% by weight) of the crust and can be found worldwide, mainly as a mineral within sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Calcite, with a hardness of just 3 on the Mohs scale, is not typically used in lapidary work nor recognized as a gemstone due to its softness. However, it does serve many other every day uses. Limestone and marble are mainly calcite. These stones have been used as building and construction materials for thousands of years, including the pyramids of Egypt. Calcite is employed in environmental remediation efforts to clean streams that have been contaminated with drainage from mining activities. Medications such as antacids contain calcium carbonate from pure limestone sources work in a similar way in the body neutralizing acids. Iceland spar, more commonly called optical calcite, is thought to have been used by Vikings to navigate. It is possible to discern the sun’s position, even on cloudy days, by utilizing calcite’s double refraction property. This optical calcite also formed the lenses of the compound eye for Paleozoic-aged trilobites.

The Lizzadro Museum has many samples of calcite on display. In the Rock and Mineral Experience Hall, two pieces stand out. The Houndstooth Calcite from the historic lead mining district of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma and the Angel Wing Calcite from Mexico. Both pieces are on permanent display and show two examples of calcite’s varied crystal forms.

References

Clarkson, Euan. “The Eyes of Trilobites: The Oldest Preserved Visual System.” Arthropod Structure & Development, October 23, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2006.08.002.

Dietrich, R.V. “Calcite.” Encyclopedia Britannica, January 20, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/science/calcite

Lagomarsino, James. A pocket guide to rocks and minerals. Bath, England: Parragon, 2009, 50-53.

Ropars, Guy, et al. “A Depolarizer as a Possible Precise Sunstone for Viking Navigation by Polarized Skylight.” Proc. R. Soc. A.468671–684. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2011.0369.  

Correction from the Winter Newsletter:
George William Satterwhite donated the Japanese netsukes and gemstone spheres

15 Days in May

Looking for the perfect gift for that special someone?
Mom looking for new jewelry?
Dad tired of the power tools? Graduations galore?
The Museum Shop has unique items for everyone on your shopping list!

Museum Members double your discount to 20% off

May 4 through 18, 2024

 

Pick Up Your KDRMA Passport to Adventures Here!

Discover wonderful museums and nature centers right around the corner!
This program runs year-round and is open to anyone and everyone!
Passports will be available starting May 1st, 2024 at the Lizzadro Museum.

 

 

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From the Curator’s Corner