BEYOND THE STONES: THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT OF MINERAL COLLECTIONS AT THE NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY

The Mineral Sciences Department of Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County has amassed a comprehensive selection of rocks, minerals, gems and jewelry from all over the world for both display and research. Our collection of over 150,000 specimens is world-wide in scope, and has a significant focus on California minerals like tourmaline, beryl, gold, and other famous Californian geological resources.

Each specimen has a story about its collection and collector’s experience in the field, but also how it has contributed to research and what it means for researching now-inaccessible areas in the future. I will share several stories about how our collection has contributed to the greater conversation about geology and multidisciplinary science from our current and past curators. There are many places that have become inaccessible in recent years, which makes museum collections from these places all the more important to researchers.

The museum’s collection relies on those to donate to it and use it. Every acquisition is meticulously documented and cared for so that future researchers have access to its provenance and past studies.

The depth and history of the museum’s collection are only accessible due to the generosity of the donors. Donors are often private collectors looking to share their passion for mineralogy, recent graduates trying to find the best use of their thesis specimens, or professors looking to make their collections more accessible to the scientific community.