Overview of the Mineralogy Museum

Around 4,000 samples are exhibited throughout the many rooms of the museum: including the entrance room (Room A), the Haüy room (Room B) and the gallery itself. The gallery is composed of a succession of rooms that are ranked by letters, in the order given by the floor map above.

In the entrance and the Haüy rooms (the A and B rooms respectively) exceptional minerals (as determined by their size, shape, perfection, color, and / or transparency) are on exhibit. Some display cases also explain the physical properties of minerals.

The gallery is arranged in a systematic way, organized by increasing chemical complexity, starting with native elements (such as gold, silver, copper, graphite or diamond for example) and proceeding to silicates (such as garnet, tourmaline, beryl, etc.). This classification was first proposed by Strunz in 1970. For each of the 2,000 species presented in the horizontal display cases, the visitor can read the name, chemical formula, and crystallographic system of the mineral. Throughout the gallery, French minerals are identified by a different color scheme: their labels are all written in green.

In the vertical display cases are large specimens with attractive aesthetic components. Some of these display cases also show the vast variety of mineral species in specific geologic and geographic settings. For example, there are cases dedicated to certain areas of France rich in ore deposits. Other vertical display cases show temporary exhibits and minerals donated by the ABC Mines Association.

Room A: Exceptional minerals

Room B: The Haüy room

Room G: Native elements

Room I: Sulfides, halides and oxides

Room J: Fischesser Room (with Brazilianite)

Room K: Carbonates and oxides

Room L: Carbonates, borates and sulfates

Room M: Sulfates

Room N: Phosphates, arsenates and vanadates

Room O: Silicates