Museum Mineralogia Munich

The Museum Mineralogia Munich is the publicly accessible part of the Bavarian State Collection for Mineralogy in Munich. The majority of the showcases are arranged around the large lecture hall of the institute building. In the west part, in the passage corridor to the scientific institutes, there are showcases dedicated to the explanation of mineralogical and crystallographic terms.

Mobile experimental arrangements, which can be operated by the visitor, models and of course the matching mineral specimens and single crystals explain concepts such as crystal structure, symmetry elements, mineral optics, crystal growth, crystal cultivation and much more in a didactically excellent manner. Here the visitor is slowly introduced to the field of science mineralogy. The wall displays in this area, when not needed for a special exhibition, are dedicated to the presentation of important Bavarian ore and mineral deposits and their minerals.

The showcases in the east of the large lecture hall serve, among other things, as “action areas” for the short-term presentation of particularly current topics. A separate showcase is available to the Munich Association of Friends of Minerals, which supports the museum financially; it is designed alternately by the individual sections of the association under selected themes.

In addition to these showcases, which are freely accessible in the passage rooms, the museum also has a separate exhibition room in which the special exhibitions take place every year in the winter semester. In the summer semester, raw and cut gemstones, precious metals (gold, silver and platinum) and meteorites from the holdings of the Mineralogical State Collection are displayed in this room.

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Retrospective: Treasure Island

Temporary Exhibitions

This temporary exhibition is dedicated to minerals, crystals and exhibits from the Bavarian State Collection for Mineralogy and the archives of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University.

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June 2023 – Barite

Mineral of the Month 2023

The mineral of the month is barite, which is also known under the German name “Schwerspat”. The synonym also already reveals its special feature: high density. This property also conditions the application of barite, since most of the world’s production is used for drilling mud in deep wells. These are particularly necessary for oil and gas wells as well as geothermal energy. Well-known deposits in Germany include the Clara mine. Barite is also still mined there and finds special applications. The largest producers worldwide are China, India and Morocco. Vereinigung der Freunde der Mineralogie und Geologie e.V has chosen barite as the mineral of the year 2023.

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The Kunstareal – new video

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The Museum Mineralogia Munich is part of the Kunstareal. Many joint events take place within the framework of the Kunstareal. Remember for example the light action in winter 2020 or the Kunstarealfest!

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