Find something on display: Second Case - Second Shelf

Abalone has a beautiful iridescence when polished, so has been used by people for many decorative purposes, including fish hooks you can see in the Heroes and Villains showcase in the Explorers and Collectors room.

Atacamite is an unusual and attractive mineral. It forms in arid climates where copper minerals are exposed to oxidation- the Atacama Dessert in Chile, after which the mineral was named, is one of the driest places in the world.

Used as a pigment by artists.

Barite is a common mineral whose name derives from Greek and translates as ‘heavy’. Among one of its most useful functions is to block x-ray emissions and it therefore features in hospital and laboratory buildings as well as power plants.

Fossil shark’s teeth come in a variety of colours due to the different mineral compositions of the rocks they are found in. Look for the black and white and teeth in the rest of the display.

Takes its name from the French for this rock, Bleu jaune (blue yellow).

Cut and polished breccia with translucent blue clasts.

Vivid green and an orangey-yellow. The Male quetzal can be seen displaying to the female above.

Glows purple under ultraviolet light.

An attractive mineral often used for carving decorative objects. Look out for the jade adze in the Explorers and Collectors room.

An attractive mineral often used for carving decorative objects. Look out for the jade adze in the Explorers and Collectors room.

A secondary mineral of copper, malachite was used as a green pigment by artists.

A secondary mineral of copper, malachite was used as a green pigment by artists.

Obsidian is formed from rapidly cooled volcanic lavas with high silica, thrust to the earth’s surface in the latter stages of a volcanic eruption.

Green like an olive, olivine comes from deep within the earth’s crust and is normally brought to the surface by volcanoes.

Bright green crystals of a lead ore mineral that sometimes occurs in sufficient quantity to be mined