Geology is the study of the earth's composition, origin, structure and development. In our geological collection we have nearly 10.000 samples of rocks, minerals, meteorites, and fossils of animals and plants that lived many million years ago.
Why are geological collections important?
The scientific collections are important for several reasons:
The collections serve as documentation of our nature
The collectibles can be used for research, teaching and exhibitions
The collections ensure that samples are taken care of, which is important if the rocks/minerals from a particular location become unavailable, for example if roads and buildings are built over the site.
At the museum we have six different collections of physical objects, and a photo collection. A selection from these collections can be seen in our permanent exhibition on the ground floor, and in the hallway leading to the cactus exhibitions.
Watch geologist Tor Sigvald Johansen present his work:
Minerals
Our largest collection is the collection of minerals. It contains more than 4000 objects. In this collection there are beautiful minerals from Agder and other parts of Norway, and rare minerals from other parts of the world.
An example is the mineral called willemite. It is beige and does not look very exciting at first glance. But! In a dark room, exposed to UV-light, the mineral has a green glow! This is called fluorescence.
Rocks
The collection of rocks is mainly collected in Norway, but we do have some rocks from other parts of the world. We have everything from limestone formed from remains of dead animals, to gneiss with elaborate textures, and interesting volcanic rocks. We even have rocks from space! They are called meteorites.
Other collections
We have a collection of more than 2000 samples of rocks from all the municipalities of Agder, and a mine collection consisting of objects from different mines in Norway.
We have a fossil collection consisting of nearly 400 fossils of animals and plants from the Cambrian period and up to a few million years ago. Some fossils from the quaternary period are still alive today. Many of these (mainly sea shells) are represented in the quaternary collection.