Rocks & Minerals

The Natural History department owns a unique collection of some of the rarest and most important rocks and minerals in the world, which vary in shapes, sizes, colours and origins. From a large piece of meteorite from Arizona, to small gold nuggets from South America.

The importance and uses of rocks and minerals have grown through the ages in human civilisations. Rocks like marble were used for sculpture and architecture for its hardness and elegance, minerals such as iron and bronze were used for weapon manufacture like swords and shields, not to mention precious metals such as gold and silver fashioned into jewellery which and in turn were inlaid with various gems.

Meteorite

Meteorites-rocks or minerals that fall randomly from space- are true collector's items, since they are, indeed, rare. Fewer than ten falls are witnessed worldwide in any one year. Those that land unnoticed are usually small and only a few of these are found annually.