FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- The 16th annual Mineral and Gem show put on by Fairfield’s Sac and Fox Lapidary Club is going on this weekend at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center.

There, you can find everything from pearls and gems to even fossils.

We came across Don Johnson who has had a special interest in dinosaur and extinct mammal fossils that date back millions of years ago.

He explained to us, what he thinks, is his most fascinating fossil.

“The fossils of the three-toed horse, which we can take a closer look at, these were creatures that were about the size of our modern dog. But they’re actually members of the horse family and they would have walked around -- these particular ones, Mesohippus, -- on three toes on each foot unlike the modern horse that supports all of its weight on just the center toe and the single hoof.  I have a large private collection of fossils including a lot of dinosaur fossils and also extinct mammal fossils from the Ice Age but also from a time period earlier known as the ellipticey period and there are fossils from that time period about 30 million years ago. They were collected in mostly areas of South Dakota and Nebraska,” said Johnson.

Johnson said he loves explaining to others the history of the fossils in his collection.