Gem of a class

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly Sept 8, 2010


When Lee Adams slices open a rock, he never knows what he will find. For the retired engineer, that mystery is the allure of the stone.

“Some are solid, some are not,” said the Bandera resident. “I can’t tell before I cut whether it’s white crystal, or agate or amethyst. It could be a 2.5 million year old nautilus fossil.”

Adams has spent 40 year pursuing his hobby in rocks. He is sharing his passion with Club Ed students for the first time this fall, teaching courses in Lapidary Arts and Wire Wrapping for Jewelry.

“I first started collecting rocks, then wondered what do I do with all of them?” He began with a used rock tumbler, and from there he couldn’t stop. Adams bought all the equipment from a retired rock collector, and soon was cutting and polishing gemstones. The fact he lived in Idaho and had unlimited supply of raw material within 50 miles of his home made his hobby more addicting.

Adams and wife, Judy, now make all types of jewelry, brooches, earrings, bracelets, and even bookends. They sell at shows and give their work away as gifts (“We give away more than we sell,” he admitted).

Adams, who is president of the Fredericksburg Rock & Mineral Club, loves to not only share his jewelry, butalso likes to help others build an appreciation for the hobby. He especially enjoys showing the secret wonders of lapidary with youngsters.

“I have thousands of pounds of polished gems that I’ve given to kids,” he said. “A kid will pick up a rock and be fascinated with it. They are fascinated with petrified wood and I’ve got lots of it. They can see that wood and understand what they are holding.”

This is Adams’ first time teaching for Club Ed. The class will meet at his shop in Bandera - “the finest rock shop in the area.”

“In the Club Ed class we are going to cut and polish two stones, plus look at the overall hobby, the equipment, and other forms of cutting and faceting.”

Adams warns students that working with rock is not without its challenges. “You can’t cut inside corners - it’s not like a piece of wood where you have saws to do that. Any cut has to be a straight line.” He also keeps a piece of carpet in front of his rock saw. “That’s because if you drop a stone on concrete it doesn’t do it much good. It’s frustrating to be almost done and have it break.”

He will also teach how to make jewelry with a technique known as wire wrapping. “We saw some wire wrapped stuff, and said, we can do that!” He and his wife came up with original patterns and designs, and are eager to help students learn the art. “Anyone can do it, you just get real creative with it. No two of my pieces are ever the same.”

For Adams, the timeless appeal of working with stone never leaves. When he holds another rock in his hand, the sense of wonder always returns.

“When I crack open a rock, I am the very first human to see the inside,” he said. “And I am surprised every time.”

xxx

Lapidary Arts begins Monday, Sept 13. Wire Wrapping starts Oct 13. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each session, we offer hundreds of enrichment classes and individual training throughout the Texas Hill Country and online. Follow us at ClubEdComments.blogspot.com, on Twitter @clubedtx, and on Facebook at Club Ed!

Mom... I'm bored

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal, April 29, 2009


"Sign my kid up for everything."

That is a direct quote from a phone call I received last spring from a parent looking for summer activities for their child. Once again it is time to think about finding great things for kids to do during those 12 weeks of summer.

Typically the excitement of being out of school wears out after about three days. Kids get restless; parents are pulling out their hair trying to come up with something to keep the kids out of their hair.

Never fear - Hill Country Kids is here! This long-running catalog of kids summer activities pulls together the best diversions in the area. Inside is a directory listing of every single organized kids activity in Kerrville, Hunt, Ingram, Comfort, Fredericksburg, Boerne, and points in between, along with detailed information on select offerings.

For starters, you'll find every Vacation Bible School in the area. Then there are the camps, from MO Ranch to the YMCA. Is your child interested in tumbling, dancing, riding, swimming, or playing music? Look inside - see what you find. There are even some diversions that don't fit any category. Try taking a trip to the Wild Animal Orphanage just this side of San Antonio, where you can spend a day visiting more than 150 lions, tigers, bears, and other exotic animals.

Or round up your cowgirls for a summer camp at the Enchanted Springs Ranch, where the buckarettes will learn how to care for animals, cook dutch oven style, garden, and rope.

These activities are not just mindless diversions to fill time. Don't let your children know, but they might actually learn something. Club Ed for Kids is sending up rockets again at the Shoot For The Stars rocket camp. We also are running the full array of science and art camps featuring Lego building bricks, engineering, claymation, robotics, and junior engineering. We even snuck in one class for adults - Beginning Guitar. No reason to take the summer off from playing music!

The Hill Country Arts Foundation is offering a theater camp, Boerne Gymnastics is reprising its popular and fun Circus Arts camp where kids will learn acrobatics and clown skills. Speaking of clowns, our cover clown "Sunshine" is putting on a magic class and balloon sculpting class for wannabe show people, all supplies included.

The list is endless: twirling, tennis, tapping, drawing, karate, golf, reading. There is no reason to ever hear those grating three words, "Mom... I'm bored."

Pick up a copy of Hill Country Kids, and sign up your youngsters (or grandyoungsters) for everything!

XXX

Hill Country Kids catalog is sent home with every elementary and middle school child in public and private schools in the hill country. You can also pick up a copy at local chambers and libraries, or by visiting www.hillcountrykids.net. Or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Shooting for the Stars

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal April 22, 2009


Calling all future astronauts and rocket scientists. You might get your ticket to outer space by launching your very own rocket right here in Kerrville.

The Shoot for the Stars Rocket Camp is our best-attended summer program. Every year, we offer several four-day workshops where kids ages 8 to 13 get their hands on model rockets. This camp was developed by Brett Williams at Fredericksburg High School, as an offshoot of his nationally-recognized aeroscience course. It is offered throughout the hill country and is taught by Williams' current and former students.

While the camp is great fun, the youngsters cannot get their hands on their rockets until they learn some basics of flight. They must take notes as the instructor introduces them to Newton's Laws, the laws of thermodynamics, and the Bernoulli Principle (any of you grownups want to take a stab at reciting those?). It's tough training, but soon they will see these scientific concepts applied to the real world.

That is the fun part. Under two instructors' guidance, the students soon are selecting body tubes, gluing on fins, and mounting recovery systems. Over the next four days, they determine the center of mass and the center of pressure, then weight the nose cone with BBs to compensate. The final step is adding the engine mount, making their rockets launch-ready.

Launch day is a big event. Families are there, as short kids and tall kids carry tall rockets and short rockets out to the football field behind the Auld Center. All are hand-built with care and pride.

That drilling on laws earlier in the week pays off, as each student must answer a few basic questions on the principles of flight before they are cleared to launch. They then take their rocket to the launch pad and connect the wires that will ignite the engine.

The countdown begins, as the crowd takes up the chant: 3... 2... 1! The young rocketeer punches the launch button.

Every bird goes up. Some ride the plume straight and true, some corkscrew and wobble. More than we like end up in trees or on top of school buildings. The best descend gracefully within the bounds of the football field.

But when you look in the eyes of the young man or woman who has just watched his or her creation ascend to the clouds, there is no doubt this rocket camp has ignited something straight and true.

XXX

Shoot for the Stars Rocket Camp will be held in Kerrville and at Ingram Middle School the week of June 8. Details on these and all other summer programs can be found in the Hill Country Kids catalog being sent home with area students. Information also available online at www.hillcountrykids.com or www.clubed.net, or by calling 895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.