Exhibits
HALL OF MINERALS
The Hall of Minerals features many items from the Colburn Earth Science Museum's primary collection of more than 4,500 specimens from around the world, including a examples of the more than 350 minerals found in North Carolina such as kyanite, quartz, corundum, beryl, mica, feldspar and itacolumite, the bending rock.
GROVE STONE ROOM
Displays in the Grove Stone Room explore the geology of North Carolina and the entire Earth. The exhibits cover volcanoes, earthquakes, plate tectonics and general geologic processes, including those that formed the mountains of Western North Carolina.
HISTORY OF MINING IN NORTH CAROLINA
This exhibit chronicles mining activity in North Carolina, including the activities of prehistoric Native Americans, Spanish explorers and 20th-century Western North Carolinians. Displays showcase North Carolinas role as the first major producer of gold in the United States, commercial mining in the state and the variety of gemstones found in North Carolina. The exhibit also has a replica of a gem mine, complete with a pretend dynamite charge and gem pockets.
GEMSTONE COLLECTION
The museum's gem collection includes more than 1,000 cut gemstones from around the world, including specimens from North Carolina. Garnet, morganite, diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire, hiddenite, stibiotantalite, tourmaline and topaz are just some of the breathtaking gemstones on display.
WEATHER, CLIMATE AND YOU
Visitors can explore meteorology and climatology through this exhibit. Learn about weather events and patterns in Western North Carolina and the Southeastern United States, and practice giving a weather report on TV at the Colburn.
FOSSILS
The Colburn is working to create a permanent paleontology exhibit. Currently, the museum has on display a handful of fossils from the museum's collection of more than 500 fossil specimens. These include teeth from a mastodon and a wooly mammoth, a large trilobite and a glossopteris fern fossil.
GIFT SHOP
We sell affordable mineral and fossil specimens, books, gemstone jewelry, earth science related toys, and a variety of science-related educational items at our crystal pocket gift shop. Geodes bought at The Crystal Pocket can be cracked in half by the Colburn team while you watch. We offer teachers a 10 percent discount on items sold in The Crystal Pocket.
