The Citiblog
NEW HALLS OF GEMS AND MINERALS TO OPEN AT AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
June 4, 2021, 10:10.02 am ET
Photo: D. Finnin/AMNH
The new Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History will open on Saturday, June 12,. A sparkling showcase for the Museum’s world-renowned collection and an engaging guide to current scientific knowledge about our dynamic planet, the 11,000-square-foot Halls are among the first major new cultural facilities to welcome the public as New York reopens.
Telling the fascinating story of how minerals in their vast diversity formed on Earth, and how humans have used them throughout the millennia for personal adornment, tools, and technology, the Halls’ exhibits include a gallery of dazzling gems, including the legendary 563-carat Star of India sapphire, gem crystals like the 632-carat Patricia Emerald, and the Organdie necklace designed by Michelle Ong for Carnet with 110 carats of diamonds.
In addition, the halls will feature a host of fabulous new specimens, many never before exhibited, including a pair of towering, sparkling amethyst geodes that are among the world’s largest on display, a slice of a 35-million-year-old metasequoia the 9-pound almandine Subway Garnet discovered under Manhattan’s 35th Street in 1885, and the Tarugo, a three-foot-tall cranberry-red elbaite tourmaline that is one of the most fantastic mineral crystal clusters ever found.
There will also be numerous interactive displays illustrating the science of mineralogy, including a dynamic periodic table of chemical elements that demonstrates how they “make minerals.”
Lastly, the halls feature a temporary exhibition space, the Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, opening with “Beautiful Creatures”, an unprecedented display of exquisite historic and contemporary jewelry inspired by animals.
Reservations to visit the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals are included in a General Admission ticket and are available now at ticketing.amnh.org.
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