Rocks and Minerals
The Manchester Museum rock and mineral collections are one of the finest in the country. In total, there are about 22,000 mineral specimens and 15,000 rocks. Spectacular examples are on display.
Find out about the Earth in space, plate tectonics, the rock cycle, features of amazing minerals and where they come from.
The Earth in space displays starts on the mezzanine floor above the Rocks and Minerals gallery. The displays include meteorites and an astronomy interactive, where you can find out about the formation of our planet 4.5 billion years ago. This is the best place to see the spectacular models of the planets.
The science of geology, studies our planet and the processes that have shaped it. Plate tectonics is central to geology, yet the theory of plate tectonics was only developed in the last half of the twentieth century. The display illustrates the way in which plate tectonics recycles the rocks that make up the crust of our planet. The three major rock types, sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous, are displayed in cases along wall of the gallery.
Rocks are made up of grains of minerals, naturally occurring geological substances with a definite composition and crystal structure. The study of mineralogy is really only chemistry and physics of natural materials. The physical and chemical properties of minerals are described in the central island cases. Find out how only ninety naturally occurring chemical elements combine to produce all the vastly different substances we see around us.
The next cases show how natural geological processes can alter minerals and rocks. Sometimes minerals are concentrated into valuable metal and ore deposits or change their structure and composition.
The final display illustrates the mineralogy of the British Isles. Spectacular minerals from northern England form the centerpiece. The mines of northern England are internationally famous for minerals. Some of the best examples known, many from long abandoned mines, are on display.
