“Without minerals there is no life. Life learned how to make minerals, in teeth, bones and shells. People think these are separate, [i]t’s all part of a whole.” Dr. George Harlow, geologist and seasoned curator.
On a recent trip to New York City, we visited the newly refurbished Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History.
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| early cave petroglyphs |
The dazzling displays include meteorites, fossils, minerals, gemstones - rough and cut, new and old. All spectacularly displayed so each can shine in their own awesome spotlight.
The mission statement of the museum is: "To discover, interpret, and disseminate—through scientific research and education—knowledge about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe."
Nowhere does this strike closest as in these immersive halls and exhibits that take us back in time to the origins of Planet Earth and the human race. There are over 5,000 minerals on earth and in the surrounding space around us, forming the substance of the world we evolved in and are made up of.
