TURNING COLLEGE COLLECTIONS INTO ONLINE ROCK AND MINERAL DATABASES FOR TEACHING AND RESEARCH

The Bryn Mawr College Mineral Collection is one of the largest private collections in the world. With over 25,000 samples, the collection is a valuable tool for education, display, and historical stewardship. Minerals, rocks, and paleontological samples have been added throughout the years thanks to research efforts and private donations. These samples, their locations, thin section photomicrographs, and compositional information are currently being compiled in an easily searchable and accessible online database. This project aims to make metadata and images of the Bryn Mawr College Collection a globally-available teaching aid and research tool, in order to allow for remote or digital petrology, petrography, and other research of the samples featured in Bryn Mawr’s Collection—including irreplaceable samples from sites that no longer exist. Digitization of this collection will also facilitate the use of mineral, rock and paleontological samples in student thesis projects and undergraduate classes. The end goal is to create a cohesive and interactive way to experience the Collection and a database that can be used to further education and research.