The University of Arizona Mineral Museum recently moved to its new home in the historic Pima County Courthouse. This was major news for the mineral community, with the opening of a new, world-class gem and mineral museum in downtown Tucson.
The museum was previously housed on the campus of the University of Arizona, in the lower level of the Flandrau Planetarium Science Center. I had been to this museum several times in the past while visiting Tucson for the mineral shows, and have made museum reports here on the site regarding their mineral collection.
In August 2021, the museum officially opened in its new location in the Pima County Courthouse in the center of the city. It is a brand new facility with state-of-the-art exhibits. The minerals on display are plentiful, and the displays are clean, modern, and have excellent lighting and signage.
The official name of the new museum is the Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum. The museum celebrated its grand opening in February 2022 to coincide with the Tucson shows. I wasn't in Tucson yet for the opening ceremony, but was still able to visit the museum on my trip in Tucson shortly after its opening.
I was impressed by the quality of the collection and the fantastic displays. I took hundreds of pictures and selected my favorite photos for this post. I will make two blog posts for my museum visit - this first for the worldwide exhibits, and the second focused on minerals of Arizona. Here is the first:
Approaching the Pima County Courthouse and Museum Building in Downtown Tucson
Courtyard of the Inner Part of the Spanish-Styled Building
Apollo 15 Lunar Basalt from the Moon, Collected by Astronaut James Irwin
Calcite with Oriented Pyrite from Chenzhou, Hunan Province, China
Variscite Polished Nodule from Fairfield, Utah
Giant Stibnite Cluster from the Xikuangshan Sb Deposit, Lengshuijian, Hunan Prov., China
Complex Calcite Crystal from Tsumeb, Namibia
Fantastic Emerald Crystal from Swat, Khyber Province, Pakistan
Fantastic Amethyst "Peace Sign" from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Radiating Elbaite Tourmaline Crystal Cluster from the Cruzeiro Mine, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Sulfur Crystals in Drill Core from Big Hill, Texas
Dioptase Crystals from Altyn-Tyub, Kazakhstan
Calcite with Dioptase Inclusions from Tsumeb, Namibia
Gold from the Crystalline-Alabama Clain, Tuolumne Co., California
Giant Silver Boulders Recently Found in Globe, Gila County, Arizona
This post is the second one about the New Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum at the University of Arizona. Our first post on the museum focused on their worldwide collection of minerals. This next post features the minerals of Arizona in the museum collection.
Arizona is one of the most prominent states regarding mineral collection and history. There are numerous classic localities with an abundance of fantastic mineral specimens coming from these locations. I therefore included a special post on the Arizona minerals in Arizona's most significant permanent display of minerals.
Glauberite Crystal from Camp Verde Salt Mine, Yavapai, Arizona
Gold Crystal Nugget near Bagdad, Yavapai, Arizona
Display Case of Fine Azurites from Bisbee, Arizona
Display Case of Fine Malachites from Bisbee, Arizona
Wulfenite from the Glove Mine, Amado, Santa Cruz Co., Arizona
Vanadinite from the Old Yuma Mine, Tucson Mountains, Pima Co., Arizona
Wulfenite from the Red Cloud Mine, La Paz Co., Arizona
Stalagmitic Calcite from the Holbrook Mine, Bisbee, Cochise Co., Arizona
Wulfenite from the Defiance Mine, Gleeson, Cochise Co., Arizona
Malachite Pseudomorph after Azurite from the Czar Mine, Bisbee, Cochise Co., Arizona
