With the semester ending, the Southern Geological Society (SGS) is wrapping up the year with the Rock and Mineral Sale on April 24th and the SGS Cookout on May 1st.
The rock sale takes place in Shoemaker Square from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The cookout will be held in Weathersby Lawn in front of the Walker Science building and will begin at 4 p.m. The club encourages students to come out and see what SGS is all about.
“SGS holds the rock sale yearly to increase awareness of our club as well as to raise money for our members to have a successful undergraduate and/or graduate experience,” said Sophomore geology student Nate Kennedy. “The money goes to a fund to help students in the club when they are going to conventions or doing research projects.”
The sale will include a variety of rocks and minerals in metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rock types. Some examples of the rocks that will be available at the sale are gneiss, quartzite, and marble.
The rocks that are sold are also collected by the geology students during different field trips that they take throughout the semesters. Most of the trips take place in the Southeastern area of the U.S. with some being collected during the annual field camp that geology students take in the Southwest. Some of the locations that the students have been to are Auburn, Alabama and the Smith County Lime Pit in Bay Springs.
“I went to the sale that SGS did with the Artist Guild back in 2024, and I really appreciated how reasonably priced everything was,” said Hattiesburg resident Reese Hodges. “They had some really cool rocks there and it’s nice to know that they actually collect the rocks that they sell and aren’t selling fake stuff like some crystal stores do.”
In past sales that SGS has held, they have also sold geological maps and fossils alongside the rocks and minerals. These sales typically happen once a semester with the last one having taken place on Sept. 24th.
For students wanting to learn more about SGS, the club posts about their upcoming events on their Instagram, @usm_geology_ttt. The club is also open to students outside the geology major who are interested in learning more about the subject. Monthly meetings are held in the Walker Science Building with pizza for members and those wanting to join can contact the club through their Instagram or GroupMe link in their Link Tree.
