Support the Rice Museum through our Adopt-a-mineral Program now available on our website. Why Adopt-a-mineral? Do you have a favorite mineral at the museum? Would you like to support the museum in acquiring new minerals? By participating in our Adopt-a-Mineral program, you symbolically adopt your favorite mineral and become an important part of the museum! […]
Adopt a Mineral and Support the Museum! Read More »
Famed mineral photographer Jeff Scovil dropped by the museum recently to shoot pictures of some of our top specimens, as well as “glamor shots” for regional collectors. The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals is sponsoring six-pages featuring the best of the museum’s collection in a supplement to the The Mineralogical Record, to be
Mineral Photographer Jeff Scovil Visits Museum for Mineral Glamor Shots Read More »
Rice NW Museum is getting prepped and ready to exhibit at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in February. In keeping with the show’s theme this year, the Rice NW Museum will be displaying some of its finest wulfenite specimens. Curator Julian Gray began planning the case layout months ago, and he has been working with
Wulfenite Specimens Prepared for Spotlight at the Tucson Show Read More »
Just back from Tucson, this little fellow is an extinct critter called a eurypterid. It’s one of the acquisitions from this year’s enormous Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, where we join other national and international museums annually to show off our specimens, make new purchases, and talk shop. The long tail spike has led some
What’s in the Box: You’re ripped, Eurypterid! Read More »
What caught your eye in this photograph–did the pink rhodonite stand out, or was it the contrasting ribbons of black? Oddly enough, the same element is responsible for both of those colors: manganese!
What’s in the Box? Mighty Manganese Read More »
What color is this mineral? Look at it one way, and it appears blue. Turn it sideways, and it becomes bright purple! What exactly is going on?
What’s in the Box? Double Take Read More »
Halloween has passed, but the scares continue with this slippery substance: mercury! The faded label on this vial, acquired in a recent donation, says, “Mercury from thermometer.” Inside, a silver blob bounces back and forth when the vial is shaken. But what is this toxic liquid doing in a blog post from a mineral museum?
What’s in the Box? Quicksilver Read More »
October’s birthstone can be a bit confusing: what is “precious” opal, anyway? Is it different from fire opal? And what kinds of opals are “common”? This post is a short primer for all your opal terminology needs.
What’s in the Box? Opal Read More »
You’ve known how to name 3D shapes since elementary school. They’re easy: cube. Cylinder. Pentagonal dodecahedron?
What’s in the Box? Shaping Up Read More »
Quick, name a purple mineral! Did you say amethyst? Or perhaps fluorite? While those minerals may show standout examples of the most royal of colors, others may show off fine purples, too.
What’s in the Box?: Purple Edition Read More »
