The Mineralogical Museum is housed in Penny Hall, the Geoscience building. Opened in 1971 and renovated in 2009, the Museum displays approximately 350 specimens, including minerals from the remarkable collection of Irénée du Pont. The du Pont collection was assembled in the 1920s and was gifted to the University in 1964, providing the foundation for further growth.
The present collection contains approximately 3000 specimens of minerals, meteorites, gems and carvings and is divided into a display collection and a reference collection. The display collection focuses on fine crystallized minerals; classics from worldwide and North American localities, minerals from caves, specimens from significant recent discoveries and themes such as crystallography and crystal growth. The reference collection is comprised of specimens that illustrate crystallography, regional and systematic mineralogy and is used by a wide variety of students in geology, engineering, art conservation and education.
For information about the Mineralogical Museum, please contact Curator Sharon Fitzgerald at slfitz[at]udel.edu or 302-831-6557.