FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[simonoff]

I had the chance to spend time in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. Naturally I went to the mineral hall. I took a few pictures, which for the most part do not overlap with ones already taken. There some some duplicates, but since the picture is different, it seems worth posting anyway.

I hope you enjoy. And please remember this is a crowded busy museum with all minerals behind plastic which is ioften scratched and somewhat dirty - so make allowances for the photography :-)

[simonoff]

More

[simonoff]

More

[simonoff]

These are all from the same display case, showing that one mineral can have many different shapes

[simonoff]

Wulfenites from their One Mineral Many Shapes case.

[simonoff]

The above wulfenites were part of a suite of "one mineral many shapes" Here is the whole case.

[simonoff]

Ok, now on to the case called "Mineral Friends"

[simonoff]

These two are form the India Minerals Case

[simonoff]

Now from the zeolites case

[simonoff]

Now from the Silicate Gallery

[simonoff]

From the phosphates, Arsenates, and Vanadates Gallery.

[Matt_Zukowski]

Thanks to the Simonoffs (Jessica? Bob?) for another series of photos from another place displaying minerals. Separately, I have been reading about Googles efforts to photo/map the insides of museums, just like with their Street View app. The Simonoff picts prompted me to go see if Google had mapped the insides of the mineral hall yet. What i found instead was a wonderful app from the Smithsonian that does the same thing. Go to:
https://www.mnh.si.edu/vtp/1-desktop/
(link normalized by FMF)

Look to the upper right of your screen and click on the button marked "second," which will take you to the second floor. Clicking that button also brings up a map, and you can click on any of the blue dots in the hall of minerals to fly to that location. When you walk around, you sometimes see a camera icon that you can click to bring up better photos of areas.

I have just spent the past fifteen minutes virtually walking around the Smithsonian, trying to put the excellent Simonoff pictures in context. Much FUN!

I wonder when Google or other museums put similar things up on the web.

[Tobi]

Thank you for this wonderful pictures!

[Jordi Fabre]

[John S. White]

Bob:

Those are some of the best photos that anyone has posted of minerals on display, very nice work! It is not easy to obtain such fine photos of minerals behind glass.