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| - The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is another of Pittsburgh's treasures. It is one of four of the Carnegie Museums which have over 100 year history in Pittsburgh. The Natural History museum is a world class museum with over 22 million objects and scientific specimens! The exhibits span Amphibians & Reptiles, Anthropology, Birds, Botany, Invertebrate Paleontology, Invertebrate Zoology, Mammals, Minerals, Mollusks, and Vertebrate Paleontology. These exhibits include popular collections that include dinosaurs and gemstones, my personal favorite.
This vast collection would require pages to adequately review, so I will limit myself to my favorite collection that I've watched evolve. Over the years students in Materials Science and Engineering at CMU have been treated to a visit to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and its Hillman Hall as part of their Structure of Materials class. These trips included a behind the scenes look at the preparation of exhibits for display in the museum and focused on the Minerals and Gemstone collection. This tour was presented through the courtesy of the Head, Section of Minerals: Marc Wilson and Collections Assistant: Debra Wilson. Both were impressive in their knowledge and the dedication to both preserving the collection and sharing of their vast insights.
Minerals and gemstones are ubiquitous in our everyday lives. The Hillman Hall showcases minerals and gems from around the world. In doing so it introduces visitors to their synthesis, structure and properties. Crystallographers classify crystals in terms of its crystal structure. Other disciplines have additional classification schemes for crystalline solids. These classification schemes are represented at the Hillman Hall and illustrated through magnificent examples in their collection.
The Hillman Hall Masterpiece Gallery shows over 70 mineral specimens as natural works of art. These mineral specimens include elements, oxides, silicates, etc. The exhibits explain the relationships between underlying atomic symmetries the macroscopic symmetries of the mineral specimens. The chemistry of the crystalline compound and the crystalline structure give rise to optical and physical properties of the minerals. An attractive illustration of these concepts is seen in the Fluorescence and Phosphorescence Room where it is seen how ultraviolet radiation causes minerals to glow with different colors.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History can provide a place of wonder to explore for hours or days with subsequent visits. There is much to see and explore. If you are a fan of minerals and gemstones make a point to visit and take the time to appreciate this exquisite collection there.
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