Saturday 28 November 2015

Minerals


The mineral gallery at the Natural History Museum

When I first visited the old Geological Museum, not that long after its redesign in 1996,  I was very disappointed to see that the old fashioned displays that I had been fascinated with, as a child, were no longer there; however, during my most recent visit to the Natural History Museum, I was very pleasantly surprised to discover the Mineral Gallery and the Vault.


Various minerals in traditional wood and glass display cabinets

As El Museo Geominero in Madrid  clearly demonstrates, minerals do not need fancy graphics or interactive displays to make them attractive and interesting – their natural beauty is quite enough - and the Mineral Gallery also possesses very many fantastic, simply presented specimens.

Blue John from Castleton

With still much more planned for the rest of the day, I didn't spend as much time in this gallery as I would have liked to have done - taking only a few general photographs - and I could have been here for well over an hour...

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