I took my family on a trip in the summer to Asheville, North Carolina, where we observed the eclipse in the Great Smokey Mountains. While in the area, we visited the Asheville Museum of Science (www.ashevillescience.org), in downtown Asheville. This museum is very small, consisting of only two rooms, and one of these rooms contains the Colburn Hall of Minerals.
The museum, as well as the mineral displays, are geared towards young children, and the mineral collection is not particularly significant or impressive. Much of the collection on display consists of common minerals, which lack locality labels. However, there were a few local specimens of interest on display from North Carolina that were worth photographing and sharing. These include North Carolina
Gold,
Hiddenite,
Emerald, and
Kyanite.
This is a good museum for young children, as it is very kid-friendly with hands-on exhibits and play areas. However, it is surprisingly small, and my family and I were ready to go in under an hour having seen and experienced everything.
Below are photos of some North Carolina minerals of interest from the museum collection:
Asheville Museum of Science Colburn Hall of Minerals
Gold from the Reed Mine in N.C., the First Gold Mine in the U.S.
Single Hiddenite Crystals with Beautiful Green Color
Large North Carolina Emerald Crystals
Large Gemmy Emerald Crystal from North Carolina
Large Kyanite Crystal from North Carolina
Deep Blue Kyanite Crystal on Matrix
