Image 5 — Bicolored elbaite on quartz from the Himalaya Mine, Mesa Grande, California. Photo by Mark Johnston
Mineralogy
NHMU’s Mineralogy Collection includes natural crystals, ore samples, and faceted gemstone specimens that illustrate the diversity and beauty of minerals. Minerals tell the story of how the interior of the earth works and, since they contain resources that we use throughout our modern lives, they are important to study from a practical perspective.
The collection comprises around 5,000 specimens, including precious metals and gems, meteorites, fluorescent crystals, and even toxic specimens. We have built this collection over time thanks to many generous donors.
Our collection is particularly strong in its representation of the great diversity of minerals found in Utah, in addition to other specimens from around the world. Some specimens are only found in Utah, such as gem-quality red beryl from Topaz Mountain. Utah’s natural richness in metal ores is reflected in the copper-clad Rio Tinto Center, the home of the Natural History Museum of Utah.
There are over 100 beautiful selections of minerals on display on the 3rd floor of the museum, where you will also find a window that peeks into our collections space, where additional storage cabinets contain mineral specimens not on display. We use our collection primarily for display and education. To that end, we are in the process of putting our mineral specimen database online, open to all.
Did you know...
The museum's mineralogy collections include exceptionally rare minerals, such as gem-quality red beryl from western Utah.
