Mineralogy

The mineralogy and petrology collections consist of specimens obtained from the Department of Geology and Geophysics when the museum was created and of specimens donated by private collectors. The collection contains 3700 mineral and 150 rock specimens from all over the world, as well as Utah and surrounding regions. Many of the specimens are from world famous locations. Currently, specimens obtained as a result of the recent closure of the Salt Lake City office of the Bureau of Mines office are being cataloged and this collection is increasing the number of mineral and rock species held and/or providing new locations for species already in the collection. The mineral collection is the main resource for the preservation of specimens representing natural earth material resources of Utah and the Intermountain West, including Utah mining districts that are no longer in operation. It also contains many rare species, some discovered and described from Utah.

The mineral collection is somewhat different from other UMNH collections in that it was developed largely through private donations to the museum. As a result, the collection contains a great number of specimens of aesthetic beauty or intriguing oddity, which make them of considerable interest to the general public. This makes the mineral and rock collections valuable as a resource for use in programming related to exhibits, education, outreach, and the museum web page.

The mineral collection is unique in that it is the collection that can be most easily traveled throughout the state and region. Although valuable, the specimens are not subject to various regulations that limit the travel of many other artifacts in the museum. As such, the mineral and rock collection serves as an ambassador for the museum and helps to make connections to between the museum and the general public. This potential has been aggressively developed over the past two years in various traveling exhibit programs. Currently, exhibits pertaining to minerals are touring Utah banks, schools, libraries, fairs, and mineral shows. In addition, educational exhibits pertaining to minerals are also traveling to two major international mineral shows each year. In the year 2000, the mineral collection was involved in traveling exhibits that were seen by over 70,000 people.

Other educational uses of the collection include student use in courses offered by the Department of Geology and Geophysics such as Architecture of the Earth (GG1000), Rocks and Minerals (GG1200), and Museum Sciences (GG3980). The mineral and rock educational collection is used by UMNH education staff in programs such as the Junior Science Academy and gallery carts.

Although the mineral and rock collections exist because of the generous efforts of private collectors, unfortunately the detailed information needed for research purposes is not available for many of the specimens in the collection. Current and future acquisition programs are being developed to facilitate the collection of specimens by museum staff so that the value of the UMNH collection as a research resource will grow as rapidly as possible.

For additional information about the Mineral Collection, submit a questions Ask A Scientist.