Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery: Minerals Gallery

This is an ongoing exhibition that has been recently redeveloped.

The problem I have with this gallery is that every time I visit, I focus on the temporary exhibitions and so have sadly neglected the downstairs permanent exhibitions.

Cornwall with it's varied geology and history of mining has a huge variety of rocks and minerals.  The museum has an important collection and this gallery has always aimed to exhibit as much of this as possible.  It used to be full of lovely old wooden display cases and was just rammed full of stones.  It was a little overwhelming and hard to take everything in, because there was just so much!  

In redeveloping this exhibition, it is clear they have understood that people can only take in so much of one type of thing.  There are still beautiful old wooden cabinets, but not as many as before.  There are more items of mining history, more paintings relating to mining, more objects relating to to the rocks and minerals.  Of course, this means there are fewer rocks and minerals than before, but there are still more than enough for the average person and there is much more variety.  The exhibition isn't just a display of rocks.

There is a lot to be fascinated by.  At one end of the room there are three small screens and two projections on the walls of one corner.  These show a film of very beautiful moving images relating to mining and minerals.  I am not sure what these images are, but it is very restful.  I would have liked a chair maybe, to sit and just chill out and take it in!

I also really enjoyed the display on pigments and minerals used in modern technology.  I think it is so important to convey the modern uses of these things, not just historical uses.  We depend on these things for so much!  They developed the paint used in the gallery from local minerals.  It's so good to see a more diverse exhibition and it is clear a lot of time and effort has gone in to every single detail.  I need to spend much more time in this room!

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