Exposition entitled
MOTHER EARTH’S TREASURES
– collection of minerals and fossils to be found in Poland
and of meteorites
MUSEUM OF MOTHER
EARTH’S TREASURES
MOTHER EARTH’S TREASURES
The subject is very broad, both as refers to space and time. What is the Mother Earth’s
Treasure? It may be a grain of sand, a grain of mineral, a drop of water or anything that
surrounds us. It is time trapped in rock in the form of fossils or minerals. It is also the time to
follow when new ‘treasures’ will be formed.
The authors of the exhibition wish to show to the visitors a small fragment of the treasures
comprising geology, mineralogy, gemmology and palaeontology in an attractive form. The
visitors are encouraged to get familiar with geology, which may seem to be a strange field of
science unknown to them but one worth learning.
The exhibition is divided into two parts, one is the permanent exhibition which will not
change in time and the other is the temporary exhibition, in which specific subject-matter
showpieces will be presented. At the present moment the showpieces displayed make up four
different groups.
A jadeite bear
Address: 35-030 Rzeszów, ul. 3 Maja 9
Exhibition organiser: Diamond & Gold Adam Micał Jewellers
Owners of the showpieces: Andrzej Bezkorowajny, Adam Micał
Authors: Adam Micał, Andrzej Bezkorowajny and Mateusz Bezkorowajny
Exhibition financed by the authors.
Photos: Adam Micał
Rzeszów, 1st December 2012
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday – 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.
Saturday – 10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.
Exposition entitled
MOTHER EARTH’S TREASURES
– collection of minerals and fossils to be found in Poland
and of meteorites
1.
SPACE MINERALS OR METEORITES
(PERMANENT EXHIBITION – 312 showpieces)
Meteorites are remains of small rocky bodies (meteoroids) attracted by a significantly larger
celestial objects, which reach the surface of the celestial object in a solid form.
Meteorites on Earth are represented by small chips to a-few-meter-large rocks. As regards the
mineral contents, meteorites are divided into:
• siderites (iron),
• siderolites (iron and stone) formed between the metallic core and the silicate
surface coat of the planetoid,
• aerolites (stone and silicate),
• chondrites (up to 10% of crystalline iron),
• achondrites (up to 1% of crystalline iron, deceptively similar to basalts).
Meteorites are called the names of the place where they fall down or are found. If found, a
meteorite may receive the name of the closest characteristic geographic point, e.g. a river
(Willamette Meteorite), a mountain, a mountain range (Sikhote-Alin Meteorite), a lake
(Tagish Lake Meteorite), a town (Viedma Meteorite) or a village.
The meteorites are presented in three display cases standing in the middle of the first room.
Nearly all of the types are presented there, including tektites. Tektite is glass of (most
probably) impact origin, which means that it was formed at the moment a meteorite hit the
surface of the Earth (Libyan Desert Glass, Lechatelierite).
2.
MINERALS AND FOSSILS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
(PERMANENT EXHIBITION)
What do Napoleon Bonaparte, Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Helmut Kohl have in common?
The answer is their shared fascination with mineralogy. They were not only outstanding
historical and literature personalities, or in Helmut Kohl’s case – a political figure, but also
collectors of minerals.
Mineral is a naturally occurring chemical substance of specific composition and specific
physical and chemical properties. Minerals make up the Earth’s crust, as well as the Moon
and meteorites. Synthetic minerals are crystalline substances produced in engineering
processes, whose composition and structure are equivalent to the respective natural minerals:
synthetic diamond, synthetic corundum and other. Minerals differ from mineral substances
(e.g. mineraloids) with their crystalline structure and from mineral mixtures (e.g. rocks
usually consisting of various minerals) with their chemical and physical homogeneity.
Minerals occur in the form of correctly formed large crystals or crystal clusters (e.g. druses).
Most often agglomerations of small crystals may be found. Crystals are formed by various
geological processes: magma crystallisation, metamorphism, hydrothermal processes,
volcanic exhalations, weathering, diagenesis, precipitation of chemical substances from
surface waters, operation of organisms. In specific physical and chemical conditions usually
characteristic mineral assemblies are formed by paragenetic sequence.
The assemblies of minerals occurring in the Earth’s crust in large masses are rocks.
The visitors will find a great variety of minerals and forms such as:
– nuggets: sulphur, gold, silver, native copper;
– metal ores:
• of iron: magnetite, hematite, pyrite, markasite,
• of copper: bornite, covellite, malachite, azurite,
• of zinc and lead: galena, sphalerite, cerussite,
• of chromium and lead: crocoite;
– halides: fluorite, halite;
– carbonates: calcite, dolomite;
– silicates and aluminosilicates: quartz, feldspar, tourmaline, mica, garnet;
and many other minerals, including synthetic and dyed minerals.
Fossils are the remains of organisms (body or structural fossils) and traces left by the
organisms once they were alive (trace fossils) preserved in rocks. Fossils are formed by the
process called fossilisation. Most often only skeletal parts of bodies get fossilised. The
process takes place by replacement of the primary substance making up the hard parts of an
organism with other mineral compounds (usually calcium carbonate or silicate, and rarely
with dolomite, siderite, limonite, pyrite or phosphates) of the same chemical composition (e.g.
transformation of argonite in a more stable calcite) or of different chemical composition. Hard
fossilised parts formed of stable substances (e.g. calcite or silica) are sometimes preserved
without any transformations.
The rarest type of fossils are complete fossils, which means organisms with preserved soft
tissues, sometimes in a nearly unchanged state, which was contributed to by a peculiar
coincidence (freezing, fossilisation in asphalt, or mummification, etc.). A characteristic form
of fossilisation is the preservation of remains in amber (fossil resin originating from various
species of trees) and in calcareous sinter.
A different group of fossils is represented by internal natural casts and imprints, which are
only indirectly related to hard elements and represent their morphology.
The visitors of the exhibition will find representations of fauna and flora from the oldest to the
youngest geological ages, in which the traces of life were recorded on Earth. It is possible to
analyse the changes of the forms of life throughout the past 500 million years – from trilobites
to mammoths. The geologic time scale will be highly helpful in this case.
Geologic Time Scale
(time in millions of years)
3.
GEMSTONES
(PERMANENT EXHIBITION)
Gemstones are spectacular and rare, pure, homogeneous and transparent varieties of some
minerals and rocks. The stones are characterised with high gloss, stunning colour, high
durability and hardness. They are used for making jewellery and often set in gold, silver and
other precious metals.
Stones have accompanied people since the very beginning of our existence, sometimes as
jewels and sometimes as useful tools. Jewel stones have been selected with regard to their
purity, colour and durability. Nowadays, the whole branch of science called gemmology,
which uses state-of-the-art achievements of other sciences and techniques, such as optics,
radiology, X-ray photography and others.
The research of minerals is the subject of a branch of geology called mineralogy, which is
closely related to petrography and crystallography. The origins of that science date back to the
antique, when external features of some minerals and the places of their occurrence were
described. The first classification of minerals was developed in the 10th century by Avicenna.
Many references to mineralogy may be found in the works of Georgius Agricola dating back
to the 16th century.
4.
MINERALS AND FOSSILS IN POLAND
(TEMPORARY EXHIBITION)
Poland is a rich country as refers to minerals and fossils. The exhibition presents only a part
of the richness. Interesting is the fact that most of the showpieces were “saved” from
destruction by a crusher or by the forces of nature.
One of the display cases comprises the treasure of the Podkarpackie Province – sulphur. The
showpieces originate from the Machów mine, which has already been closed down. They are
sulphates (celestite and barite), native sulphur and carbonates (calcite).
The Polish resources are predominated by copper and, therefore, ore minerals have also been
shown. The tradition of metal ores mining and processing in the Polish territory dates back at
least to the 6th century before Christ (iron heating in primitive smelting furnaces). Nowadays,
we are mining zinc and lead ores in the surroundings of Olkusz and copper ores in the
Legnica-Głogów Copper District (LGOM). The whole Mendeleyev periodic table may be
found there! Historically there were also other metal ores mined in the territory of Poland,
including iron, zinc, lead, copper, silver, gold and arsenic ores. The ores were mined in the
Świętokrzyskie Mountains, in the vicinity of Cracow and in Lower and Upper Silesia.
The display case devoted to ores presents minerals making up the ores or co-occurring with
the ores. The visitors may see galena, siderite, marcasite, blende, hematite, malachite, azurite,
bornite, covellite, barite and other.
Another case displays the most popular chemical compound in the Earth’s crust, which is
silica or SiO2. The visitors will see quartz, chalcedony and opal – an amorphous type of silica.
All these in various forms and colours.
Quartz comprises mountain crystal, amethyst, citrine, morion or smoky quartz – minerals
which have been used in jewellery and decorations for a long period of time.
Chalcedony is an extensive group of minerals including jasper and agate. Other types such as
sard, chrysoprase, carneole, heliotrope may also be seen. All of the minerals have amazed
people with their colours and in the hands of artist cutters have been enlivened in the form of
various decorations.
Opal is an amorphous form of silica. The most precious opalescent variety has not been found
in Poland, yet the specimens that may be found in Niesławice, Szklary or Jordanów are
beautiful and colourful.
The most famous Polish mineral around the world – pegmatite is also presented at the
exhibition. Pegmatite is rock from which the largest number of gems are derived. In Poland
pegmatite occurs in the granite massifs of the Karkonosze and Góry Sowie Mountains and in
the vicinity of Strzegom. The display cases present pegmatite mineral samples from those
regions of Poland.
A separate collecting branch is palaeontology. The exhibition shows fossils found in the
territory of Poland in various complexes of sedimentary rocks.
The showpieces depict the short history of life in the present territory of Poland throughout
the last 500 million years.
The Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian are represented by graptolites – such rocks occur in
the Świętokrzyskie Mountains.
The Devonian is depicted by fossils from the Dule Gorge recognised around the world. The
exhibition presents brachiopods and corals from Grzegożowice in the Świętokrzyskie
Mountains.
The Carboniferous is associated with hard coal called the “Polish gold” and fossils found in
coal. These include ferns, calamites, horestails and other.
The Permian ending the Proteroziok watched the largest extinction in the history of the Earth
– 90% of species disappeared.
The Triassic was the beginning of Mesozoic – the beginning of the dinosaur era. In that period
ceratids and crinoids were living in waters and fossils of those animals may be seen at the
exhibition.
The Jurassic – the dinosaur era has not left many fossils of these animals in Poland, as the
majority of the Polish territory was occupied by sea. Therefore, such fossils – mainly
represented by ammonites, belemnites – are most common in Poland. There are also present
sponges, corals, snails, bivalves, brachiopods and other.
The Cretaceous watched the further development of reptiles. In Poland still sea and sea fauna
predominated, similarly to the Jurassic represented by ammonites, bivalves and snails. The
Cretaceous ended with major extinction approximately 60 million years ago. The Yucatán
Peninsula was hit by a 10-kilometre-large asteroid and the reptiles domination ceased –
mammals started to rule.
The Tertiary was a period of great variety in the territory of Poland occupied by shallow and
deep seas. That sea fauna was mainly represented by fish and snails.
The Quaternary became the era of mammoths
and the most cruel predator of all times –
the MAN.