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Selenite, Chihuahua, Mexico, 11 1/2 x 22 x 16 inches, 56 1/2 lbs., Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, Museum purchase, R1977.01.1294, photograph by Taylor Dabney
Exhibition
Oct 01, 2015
throughDec 04, 2016

Massive Rocks & Minerals: Selections from the Collection

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Massive Rocks & Minerals: Selections from the Collection is on view in the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature from October 1, 2015, through May 13, 2016. The exhibition features some of the largest and most spectacular rock and mineral specimens from the museum’s permanent collection.

Extracted from mines all over the world, the minerals in this exhibition include dense quartz clusters from Arkansas, deep purple amethyst from Brazil, a massive 175-pound Peruvian pyrite, and exquisite okenite and stillbite specimens from India.

Featuring more than thirty specimens collectively weighing nearly two tons, Massive features a wide variety of minerals and crystal forms. Gypsum, a widespread and economically important calcium sulfate hydrate, is represented in the exhibition by several samples from Mexico, including a dramatic cluster of sandy-colored, bladed desert rose selenite crystals, a 101-pound “fishtail” selenite cluster of translucent twinned crystals, and a single, well-developed individual 37-inch long crystal. In contrast to these crystals, Massive features several specimens with smooth, globular habits, such as azurite and smithsonite from New Mexico, and deep-green malachite from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Public tours and educational programs will be presented during the run of the exhibition, and the Education Focus Gallery will feature hands-on specimens. K-12, homeschool, and community groups can learn about plate tectonics, rock types, mineral composition, and general mineralogy.

The exhibition was organized by the University of Richmond Museums and curated by Matthew Houle, Curator of Museum Collections, University Museums.

Programming

Sunday, January 31, 2016, 2 to 3 p.m.
Museum Story Time for Children, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University Museums
Reading from Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen’s book The Magic School Bus – Inside the Earth
Followed by an art activity
Free, reservations recommended, call Martha Wright, Coordinator of Visitor and Tour Services, University Museums, at 804-287-1258, or email mwright3@richmond.edu

Sunday, April 3, 2016, 1 to 3 p.m.
University Museums Family Day!, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University Museums
Join us for a FREE! arts-centered family fun day with the exhibitions Massive: Large Rocks and Minerals from the Collection and Tell Me a Story: Museum Studies Seminar Exhibition, hands-on art activities, and refreshments

Sunday, April 3, 2016, 1:30 and 2:30 p.m.
Museum Story Time for Children, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
Reading from Amy Krause Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld’s book Duck! Rabbit! (1:30 p.m.) and Chalk by Bill Thompson (2:30 p.m.)
In conjunction with Family Arts Day

Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 6 to 8 p.m.
6 p.m., Lecture, Jepson Hall, Room 120, Jepson School of Leadership Studies
“Some Thoughts About Collecting Minerals and About Mineral Collections: From Amateur to Professional”
Dr. Robert J. Tracy, Professor of Geosciences and Director, Museum of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia
7 to 8 p.m., Opening reception and preview of the exhibition
Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University Museums

Some Thoughts About Collecting Minerals and About Mineral Collections: From Amateur to Professional

Massive Rocks & Minerals: Selections from the Collection

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