Transfer to the museum of mineralogy in Paris

History and visit the museum of mineralogy in Paris

The museum of Mineralogy is located on Boulevard Saint-Michel in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It is also known as the museum of mineralogy at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines de Paris. It was created on the initiative of René Just Haüy. The inauguration was done in 1794. It is considered the number one in the field of mineralogy in France, but also in the world. Its collections are among the largest in quantity, but also in diversity. It has about 100,000 collections in 5000 are exhibited. It is served by the RER Luxembourg and several bus lines including lines 21, 27, 38, 82, 84 or 89.

A museum worth visiting

The museum of Mineralogy is the successor to the Royal School of Mines. This school was founded in 1783 and settled in the Hotel de Vendome since 1815. During the French Revolution, the museum was attached to the agency mines. It is well located in the hotel which was Mouchy where stands the Ministry of Defence today. Private collections which often came from foreclosures swelled the museum collection such as Guetttard. Reorganizations collections that lasted five years were established in 1957 by Claude Guillemin.

The Friends of the library and collections of the School of Mines was founded in 1988. It provides and maintains a wide variety in geology in the world. The museum also has a conservatory, a database and a library. These collections affect the fields of geology, minerals, petrology and gems from the period of :

• neoclassicism,
• romanticism,
• realism,
• symbolism and impressionism.

It keeps 80,000 minerals from 700 different types, 4000 minerals, 15,000 rocks, meteorites 400, 700 gems, but also 300 artificial minerals. It also has 3500 thin sections of rocks, 500 and 3500 optical preparations polished sections of various minerals.

What to see there ?

Apart from the exhibition of different mines, the museum also traces the history of mineralogy. It highlights the role of minerals in the discovery of the history of our planet. It also discusses the subject of the astral body as the discovery of carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. Many rocks and minerals of the museum were collected in the mines that no longer exist today which gives them unmatched value. The museum’s collections attract the general public for their beauty. Do not forget that they are very rare scientific objects !

They are also based in specializing in the field of mineral teachings. They are subject to many leading research in the field of materials science, but also in the field of advanced physics. The museum of Mineralogy is in a neoclassical architectural style. The main body of the building opens to the Luxembourg Gardens. It is open every day of the week except Monday and Sunday. The price of entry may be full or reduced. Entrance into the museum is free for school visits and for children below 12 years. Guided tours can be made in the museum after a booking of two or three weeks in advance.