Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles: Part 2
For those
that know me, I have an obsessive love with gems and minerals. Not necessarily the bling of jewelry but the incredible
things that are spewed out of the earth naturally. We all have our back stories in life. Mine is one of recovering from gold
fever. Mine is one of fascination with
the red layers of rocks in Moab, Utah, fossils in the dirt and the caves of the
mountains. I love mining town history
and the draw of finding a gem of my own from the earth. You can imagine my excitement when we left
the space of the Dueling Dinos to see the wing of the entrance to the Gem and
Mineral Hall.
When they
say hall I think of a long walkway with space on each side. This is not what we found when we entered
this hall. It is a large room full of
every kind of gem and mineral you can imagine.
It will tell you what a mineral is and how they differ from
another. You will learn about the
differences between metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous creations. You will
see displays showing the color changing abilities of rocks with florescent qualities
that glow under UV lights. You will
learn things you never knew you never knew and you will love every minute of
it.
You can’t
talk about gems and minerals of the world while in California without talking
about gold. The California Gold Rush
began on January 24th, 1848 when gold was found by James W. Marshall
at Sutters Mill. The glittery gold brought
a blast of immigration and money to the area of California. With the increase in miners it also brought
in ranchers, farmers, shop owners, bankers, saloon keepers and ladies of the night. The United Stated jumped on the growth of the
area and in September of 1850 California became a state. This earned California the name The Golden
State and it has since grown to the huge beast we know today.
Nature makes incredible things. Some the displays we looked at I couldn’t imagine how they were ever removed and kept intact. Crystals grow in so many ways and patterns. It was like looking onto an alien planet but right here from our own backyard. If you are looking for things from an alien planet though they have that too. A meteorite cut in half looks like something imagined from a sci-fi movie. The patterns and lines are so beautiful. If you love the idea of something traveling through space and landing on Earth you will love to know that you can buy your very own meteorite in the Gem Store next door. You can also buy geode bookends, crystals, books, jewelry, salt lamps and a variety of other related items. We walked out with just a salt lamp though there were a handful of things I wanted to take home with me. I used self-control and it was tough.
While I
loved to see all the displays in the Gem and Mineral Hall, the Gem Vault was my
favorite stop. Here you found cut stones
and jewelry quality items from all over the world. When you go on a cruise you can take classes
on the jewelry you can buy when you hit land.
Some of these stones are rare and hard to find which is what makes them
worth taking a class on. Here in the Gem
Vault we were able to see rare gems like we had learned about but huge. For example we saw a 15 carat Alexandrite
bracelet from Russia. Alexandrite is a fascinating
gem. Legends claim that it was
discovered in 1834 on the same day the future Russian Czar Alexander II came of
age so it was named honoring him. What
makes this gem stone unique is that it changes colors based on the light it is
under. It can be emerald green in the daylight
but change to a ruby red under incandescent light. It is one of the more valuable stones
available.
In the Gem Vault you can also see a display of Tanzanite, which is another rare stone that is running low on availability. They have said that in our lifetime we will see the end of the mining of this beautiful blue stone. If diamonds are your thing there is a display there too. Most any stone you are wanting to see can be found in this one place on a simple display waiting to be enjoyed. And to think, we came to this museum because our little lady wanted to see some dinosaurs. We got to see those too but that will be on our next post.
Nature makes incredible things. Some the displays we looked at I couldn’t imagine how they were ever removed and kept intact. Crystals grow in so many ways and patterns. It was like looking onto an alien planet but right here from our own backyard. If you are looking for things from an alien planet though they have that too. A meteorite cut in half looks like something imagined from a sci-fi movie. The patterns and lines are so beautiful. If you love the idea of something traveling through space and landing on Earth you will love to know that you can buy your very own meteorite in the Gem Store next door. You can also buy geode bookends, crystals, books, jewelry, salt lamps and a variety of other related items. We walked out with just a salt lamp though there were a handful of things I wanted to take home with me. I used self-control and it was tough.
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In the Gem Vault you can also see a display of Tanzanite, which is another rare stone that is running low on availability. They have said that in our lifetime we will see the end of the mining of this beautiful blue stone. If diamonds are your thing there is a display there too. Most any stone you are wanting to see can be found in this one place on a simple display waiting to be enjoyed. And to think, we came to this museum because our little lady wanted to see some dinosaurs. We got to see those too but that will be on our next post.
Until then
make some memories!
Misty
