Rice Museum

30,000 Diamonds

News, Science /

A rare diamondiferous peridotite has been found in the Udachny Diamond Mine. The Russian mine is one of the 10 deepest open-pit mines on Earth. A chunk the size of a golf ball has geologists counting the micro-diamonds imbedded within the rock. In addition to diamonds, the 10.5 g rock contains specks of red and green garnet and other minerals. Prof Taylor and his colleagues examined it using a giant X-ray machine to study the diamonds and their relationships with associated materials. They also beamed electrons at the materials inside the diamonds to study the chemicals trapped inside. This created 2D and 3D images which revealed a relationship between minerals. …The images also showed abnormal carbon isotopes for this type of rock, indicating it was originally formed as part of the crust of the Earth, withdrawn by tectonic shifts and transformed into the shimmery rock scientists see today. Along with the 30,000 diamonds fused into the peridotite are red and green garnets making for a beautiful and unusual specimen.

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January 21 is #MuseumSelfie Day

Events, News /

Wednesday January 21 is an unofficial holiday, #MuseumSelfie Day. This event is a fun and lighthearted way to celebrate your favorite museum, which of course is the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals. Visit the Rice NW Museum Wednesday and take a selfie with your favorite rock, fossil, gem, museum sign, exhibit case, or gallery. Post your pictures with #MuseumSelfie and follow @RiceNWMuseum and @MuseumSelfieDay. More instructions, suggestions, and ideas are on Cultural Themes.

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Earthquake Swarm

News /

The State of Connecticut has been experiencing earthquakes the recently. The phenomenon is referred to as a swarm, and has residents on edge. A similar recorded incident in this area of the United States happened in 2006-2007 in the State of Maine and reported a swarm of 40 earthquakes. The east coast has been relatively quiet since then. It is still too early to tell if this new swarm will continue. A full story can be read at NBC Connecticut.

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New Ichthyosaur Found in Rare Fossils

News /

New findings in Scotland show ichthyosaurs are unique to the warm shallow waters of what is now Scotland during Jurassic period, 117-169 million years ago. A team of paleontologists headed by Dr. Steve Brusatte of National Museums Scotland and the University of Edinburgh has discovered a new genus and species of ichthyosaur in rare fossils. “During the time of dinosaurs, the waters of Scotland were prowled by big reptiles the size of motor boats. Their fossils are very rare, and only now, for the first time we’ve found a new species that was uniquely Scottish,” said Dr Brusatte, who is the first author of a paper published in the Scottish Journal of Geology. The newfound species, named Dearcmhara shawcrossi, was a 4-meter long aquatic dolphin-like reptile. It was near the top of the food chain and preyed on fish and other reptiles.

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Rock and Gems Magazine Features the Rice NW Museum

News /

The need to support the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals was the focus of the lead article in the January 2015 issue of Rock and Gem magazine this week. The article was written by Bob Jones, a personal friend of founders Richard and Helen Rice as well as Bill and Sharleen Rice Harvey, captured much of the history and lore of the collection. Bob highlighted some of the major minerals in the museum and the stories of how they came to be in the collection. This museum actually far exceeds in quality many publicly supported mineral museums, due to the combination of a wide range of superbly crafted lapidary materials and an astounding collection of priceless minerals. The collections were originally assembled by Richard and Helen Rice, who began collecting in 1938. These were what I call the œhalcyon years of rockhounding, when quantities of superb minerals were available at reasonable prices. Richard and Helen continued to collect right into the 1990s, an amazing length of time for any serious collector. The quality of their collections was so good they chose to establish a museum so the public could enjoy the fruits of their efforts. Thousands of visitors come to the museum each year. The article covers not only the birth and development of the Rice Northwest Museum, but the impact of its founders on mineral collectors and lapidary hobby by organizing local groups and national organizations to support encourage and educate future geologists and rockhounds.

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Give to the Rice NW Museum on #GivingTuesday

News /

Tuesday, December 2, 2014 is international #GivingTuesday, a day to give back. Please keep the Rice Northwest Museum in your giving plans for this year. The event is the day after Cyber Monday and is designed to encourage giving to others. The supporters recommending giving freely of your time volunteering, giving to charity, and giving back. On Thanksgiving, we give thanks. On Black Friday, we give deals. On Cyber Monday, we get online. On Giving Tuesday, we give back. And you know what the greatest, coolest, most innovative part about this whole movement is? It doesn’t matter how much you give, or how much you give, only that you give. Join in. Be part of a movement. You may give to the museum by: Donating to help keep the museum the best in the Pacific Northwest and globally Become a member and join the Rice NW Museum family of supporters Sponsor an event, rock or mineral, or an exhibit at the museum Volunteer to help with the many projects and activities around the museum for a few hours or on a regular basis It takes a few dollars or hours to make a huge difference in the museum’s ability to offer free and low cost programs for school children from around the Pacific Northwest, local, national, and international educational outreach programs, to offer extraordinary exhibits and special programs, and introduce thousands of people to the joy of rock collecting and preservation and natural sciences. The project is a United Nations Foundation program.

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Antique Trader’s Guide to Fine Mineral Collection Recommends Rice Museum

News /

The Antique Trader magazine recently featured the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals as one of their favorite resources in their article, “Digging for Information: 10 Things to Consider Before Collecting Fine Minerals.” The article is a step-by-step guide for those considering if fine mineral collecting is right for you, offering helpful information and resources, like our museum, to learn more about the art of collecting. Fine Mineral Collecting is the collecting of one-of-a-kind natural minerals such as the red rhodochrosite that represents the Rice NW Museum on display in the museum’s Main Gallery downstairs, alongside many other rare and unusual minerals including tourmaline, benitoite, paravauxite, legrandite, and papagoite. Fine mineral collectors collect as much for the beauty, shape and form, as well as their rarity, quality, and value. For many, finding and displaying a piece of natural history, a precious mineral formed over millions of years in a “combination of fluid, heat, and pressure,” is reward enough. As mentioned in the article, by becoming a fine mineral collector, you would be in good company. Who knows, your piece may have been owned by Andrew Carnegie, Washington Roebling (builder of the Brooklyn Bridge) or even famous pianist Roger Williams or [Oscar-winning composer of “Titanic”] James Horner, all of whom were avid Fine Mineral collectors. Other famous fine mineral collectors include Colonel Washington A. Roebling, the inventor of wire cable and builder of the famous Brooklyn Bridge, Pauline Armstrong of the Schlitz-Anheuser-Bush family, famous Spanish photographers José Manuel Sanchez and Francisco Piña, Sir Arthur Russell, 6th Baronet of England, Gene Meieren of Intel, Frau Dr. Erika Pohl of Wella Balsam Cosmetics, Michael Scott of Apple Computers, and Dr. Edward David Jr., former Nixon era science adviser. The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals offers workshops, lectures, and help to get you started on your own fine mineral collecting hobby. Come by for a visit and learn more about how you, too, can start exploring the exciting and beautiful world of minerals.

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Rice NW Museum to exhibit at the Portland Regional Gem and Mineral Show plus two other venues

News /

This is a busy week for the Rice NW Museum. Rockhounds, mineral enthusiasts and teachers can find us at one of three different events this coming Columbus Day weekend. Portland Regional Gem and Mineral Show October 10 – 12, 2014 The Rice NW Museum will be in attendance at the Portland Regional Gem & Mineral show all three days of the show. Our gift shop will be joining the more than forty dealers selling mineral related items. Proceeds help support our educational programming at the museum. The Rice NW Museum will also be among the more than one hundred educational exhibits. In addition, there will be lectures, book signings, demonstrations, kids activities, and much, much more during the show. Those who attend the Portland Regional Show can get $2 off regular admission to the Rice NW Museum this weekend with proof of paid admission to the show. Oregon Science Teachers Association Fall Meeting October 10-11, 2014 Education and outreach are important to fulfilling the mission of the Rice NW Museum. If you are an educator, you will want to catch the Rice NW Museum’s curator and outreach specialist, Leslie Moclock, at the Oregon Science Teachers Association 2014 Fall Conference. Leslie will be sharing information about our school tours and off-site programming at this conference. Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Friends of Mineralogy October 10-12, 2014 The Friends of Mineralogy is an organization whose focus is on mineral science education. The Pacific Northwest boasts one of the largest and most active chapters of this organization. The theme of the annual fall symposium of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of Friends of Mineralogy is Minerals of Colorado. The Rice NW Museum will have an educational exhibit featuring some of our better Colorado minerals. Museum director, Julian Gray, will be attending the symposium and facilitating the seminar Saturday and Sunday.

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Rice NW Museum honored for educational exhibits at the 2014 Denver Gem & Mineral Show

Events, News /

Thousands of people attended the Denver Gem & Mineral Show held the second weekend in September each year in Denver, Colorado. The theme of this year’s show was near and dear to the heart of the Rice NW Museum and Oregonian rockhounds: Agate. Agates are found in many places in Oregon and are well represented in the Rice NW Museum’s permanent exhibits. Curator Leslie Moclock selected about two dozen of the best agates and thundereggs from the museum’s collection for two temporary educational exhibits at the show September 12-14, 2014. Taking the museum to mineral collectors in attendance at shows is part of the museum’s outreach program. Both exhibit cases were recognized for their excellence in educational content and quality of the exhibition. The Denver Gem & Mineral Show Committee selected the Rice NW Museum case on the origin of agates for the Donna Chirnside Memorial Award honoring the best display by an institution at the show.  The Friends of Mineralogy, a group that promotes mineral education, awarded the Best Educational Case by an Institution Award to the Rice NW Museum case featuring thundereggs, Oregon State Rock.

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Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals
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