It’s GEMS y’all! And let me tell you, my girl LOVES the gem display at The Perot Museum, and it just got sooo EXTRA, I can’t wait to take her. The new displays were unveiled January 31, 2019.
The gems and minerals is a huge draw for the tween and under squad. (Who am I kidding, it’s my favorite too!) I can attest to that as a Girl Scout Leader. We had an overnight at The Perot Museum and it was a mad-dash to claim our sleeping spots in the middle of this amazing display. I mean, who wouldn’t want to wake up amongst the glittering gorgeousness of Mother Nature’s jewelry box?
While not everyone can camp under the minerals, but everyone can visit the Perot Museum to see this recently redesigned display chock full of one-of-a-kind pieces, and this is just the beginning as they’ve launched a Gems and Minerals Center of Excellence initiative in tandem with the revamped installation.
Perot Museum founding donor Lyda Hill in front of her signature specimen, The Eyes of Africa
Continuing its commitment to keep content relevant and exciting, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science unveils a refreshed Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall.
The popular Gems and Minerals Hall reopened January 31, 2019 with four signature displays including a stunning birthstone exhibit. In conjunction with the beautifully redesigned hall, Museum leaders also announced the new Gems and Minerals Center of Excellence strategic initiative. A new director has also been hired to lead this key top-priority initiative.
Museum enhancements include a redesigned floor plan and new opportunities to educate and engage guests while highlighting one-of-a-kind signature displays and beautiful new pieces. The Museum uses a pioneering “loan-versus-own” collection method to display and regularly rotate some of the world’s highest-quality gems and minerals.
“By bringing the world’s most exceptional gems and minerals to North Texas, we hope to inspire guests to more deeply connect with this fascinating science,” said Dr. Linda Silver, Eugene McDermott Chief Executive Officer of the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. “With a revitalized and redesigned gallery and the addition of the new Gems and Minerals Center of Excellence, the Museum is positioned to attract the most significant pieces in the world. We will be a leading authority for gem and mineral education for years to come.”
The Gems and Minerals Hall features a total of 37 cases, including easy-to-use touchscreens (with information presented in English and Spanish).
Some of the featured displays include:
- Birthstones in both rough form (in its natural state from the ground) and faceted form (cut for artistry purposes)
- Exquisite jewelry created from the birthstones for each month
- The Eyes of Africa, a show-stopping “alien eye” fluorite on loan from Namibia
- A magnificent example of stibnite with robust clusters of crystal formations recovered from an industrial mine in the Jiangxi Province of China
- A beloved 5-foot-tall amethyst “grape jelly” geode that can be cranked open for a glittering peek
- The luminescent “Aurora Butterfly of Peace”, a work of art on loan from owner and curator Alan Bronstein and comprised of 240 colored diamonds (some that fluoresce) in the shape of a butterfly
- A sampling of specimens with a southwestern flair from Texas, Colorado, Arizona and California, along with those from the countries of China, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Australia and Afghanistan
- Pieces on loan from Perot Museum staff and volunteers
New birthstone exhibit in the Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals Hall
Another part of the gallery spotlights an array of minerals, including tourmaline, rhodochrosite, aquamarine, garnet, opal, fluorite, calcite, smithsonite, pyrite and quartz.
The Museum also has established the Perot Museum Gems and Minerals Legacy Award to recognize support for the Museum’s Gems and Minerals Center of Excellence and outstanding contributions to the gems and minerals community. Lyda Hill is the 2019 recipient of the newly named award in tribute to her longstanding stewardship of the Museum and generosity in sharing her personal treasures with the community.
Learn more in Perot Museum’s Gems and Minerals Press Release.
0 Comments