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The American Museum of Natural History has some important minerals on display from the nearby volcanic traprock quarries of northeastern New Jersey. There is an exhibit case dedicated to these minerals, as well as sporadic representation of New Jersey traprock minerals in other cases. Many of the labels list the locality as "West Paterson," presumably referring to the Upper New Street Quarry, which is in fact in Paterson, and not West Paterson. Nevertheless, in our caption, we kept the "West Paterson" designation when used for lack of certainty.

The display case for the North Jersey traprock minerals has a plaque that states the following:
"A unique collection of minerals, resulting from volcanic activity, exists less than 20 miles west of New York City. Near Paterson, New Jersey, where lava flows had hardened into basalt, many of the fissures, vesicles, and other openings in the basaltic rock were filled or coated with a distinct assemblage of minerals. These include a range of related minerals known as the zeolites - Chabazite, Heulandite, Mesolite, Stilbite, and others. Attractive minerals such as Prehnite, Datolite, Pectolite, and Apophyllite are also present along with the zeolites. Because crushed basalt is a valuable rock for construction, many quarries once operated in the basaltic rock of northern New Jersey. Some of the minerals they uncovered, which number more than 60, can be seen here."

Franklin, New Jersey, is an old mining district that lies about 40 miles northwest of Manhattan. Its fame lies in its rich deposits of zinc, exploited through the 1950's. The Franklin Mine is world-famous for being the most proficient source of fluorescent minerals, and is known as the fluorescent capital of the world. It also has produced over 300 known minerals, one of the largest mineral counts for a single locality. Nearby, in the borough of Ogdensburg, is a continuation of the same ore vein, with the same assemblage of minerals. Both Franklin and Ogdensburg have produced very important mineral specimens, with old classics such as Rhodonite and Willemite within the cases of museums throughout the world. The American Museum of Natural History is no exception, having a special affinity to these locations due to their proximity.

Presented below are some of the minerals on display from Franklin and Ogdensburg, New Jersey. This post concludes our museum report on the American Museum of Natural History. However, visit our Instagram page for additional photos not included on these pages.

I made a trip earlier this year to Tellus Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, while visiting family in Atlanta. Located about an hour north of Atlanta, Tellus Museum is an impressive natural history museum with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. I traveled with extended family, which included young children, and found the exhibits to be very conducive to all ages. All members of my party, ranging all ages, enjoyed their visit.

One of the highlights of the museum is their outstanding hall of minerals. Aside from the abundance of quality mineral specimens on exhibit, the displays are well-lit, spacious, and have good labels and associated reading material. The museum has an extensive collection of Georgia minerals, which is in all probability the best collection of this type on public display. Georgia cases include Graves Mountain, Jackson Crossroads Amethyst, Emerson Barites, and Georgia Gold. Many fine worldwide minerals are also represented at the museum, with different themes in each display case.

Prior to November 2007, the museum was known as the Weinman Mineral Museum. The museum closed and reopened in 2008 as Tellus Science Museum, expanding the museum beyond minerals to include additional science and technology displays, as well as hands-on features. Despite the expansion of the museum into other science areas, the original theme of minerals is still very much present and a primary attraction of the museum, along with fossils and dinosaur exhibits.

I had the privilege of meeting Jose Santamaria, the executive director of the museum, during my visit. He gave me a detailed tour of the museum and mineral hall, explaining each case and some of the minerals in detail. I had the opportunity to take many photos during this trip, which I am proud to share here on Minerals.net. The museum reports will be divided into several posts, composed of the following:

• Georgia Display Cases
• Individual Georgia Minerals
• Graves Mountain Minerals
• Worldwide Collection

Continuing with the posts on Tellus Museum mineral exhibits, this article features some of the display cases of Georgia minerals. Tellus Museum has the best public collection of minerals of Georgia, represented in several different cases. Graves Mountain, the most famous mineral locality in the state, will have its own dedicated post.