Find something on display: Second Case - Top Shelf

Aragonite is one of the two common forms of calcium carbonate, forming naturally in almost all mollusc shells.

Used as a pigment by artists.

Glows purple under ultraviolet light.

An artificially produced mineral with a brilliant shiny blue sheen.

Chalcedony is another mineral robustly used in making bracelets, necklaces, earrings and costume jewellery. Its common varieties, such as agate, carnelian, chrysoprase or moss agate, are part of this display and demonstrate the richness of colour and texture of the mineral.

These have been exploited for pearls in the past.

This ammonite comes from the Lower Greensand, a Cretaceous age rock. The green in greensand comes from the mineral glauconite.

Jade is a very durable mineral that was originally used for the manufacture of axe heads and weapons. Because of the beautiful colour of some of its specimen, it later became incorporated into jewellery and ornamental objects.

This rare dark blue mineral is ground up to form the artist’s pigment ultramarine.

It is a species of snake found in southeast Asia and Asia. It has slender, large eyes, and a head larger than its neck. Their backs have a bronze colour, and their bellies have white scales with bright blue scales along the side of the body. They are often found in trees or low bushes.

Also known as Bryozoa, they are aquatic invertebrates that live in sedentary (fixed to one spot) colonies. They have a special ‘crown’ of tentacles, used for filter feeding. Most live in tropical waters, but some are found in oceanic trenches and polar waters

Wulfenite is a source of molybdenum, a strong material with a high temperature resistance making it useful in space exploration and for making weapons.