Minerals collection now on display
Jennifer Pearsall/Pioneer
Jeremy Queen, engineering major, examines anazurite and malachite specimens. The minerals are displayed in the Center for Engineering and Advanced Technologies Education. Gary Houlette and Greg Holland, engineering professors, bought their collection from craigslist.com.
FRANK FOSHEE
News Writing Student
Two display cases in the Engineering Lab now showcase 44 rocks and minerals in the college collection of 170 specimens purchased last year, said Greg Holland, engineering professor.
Holland said he invites anyone who has an interest to stop by and take a look.
The minerals come from around the world, he said.
Holland said there is Calcite sample from the Sweetwater mine in Ellington, Mo.
It looks like shiny silver flakes all mashed together and formed around an ivory colored rock.
The Fluorite comes from the Hunan Province in China, he said. It is a green crystal, almost translucent.
One specimen looks like tiny strands of orange fused together.
It is called Crocoite, Holland said, from the Adelaide mine in Tasmania.
Pyrite Cubes from Spain resemble two interlocking golden cubes.
Holland, with the help of Professor Gary Houlette, is responsible for putting the collection together.
They say they will answer any questions the viewers may have.
“My plan is to rotate displays based on different themes every few months and include photos of the mines and educational write-ups alongside the mineral specimens,” Holland said.
These specimens are part of a large collection assembled by Richard Tucker from Oklahoma City. After his death, the man’s sister offered them for sale.
Houlette said he found the collection from an ad on the popular website www.craigslist.com. Then, he and Holland went and picked out the minerals.
“These minerals are not only great to look at but they also serve as teaching tools in the Geology and Earth Science classes,” Holland said.
The Engineering Lab is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, in room 1T1 in the Main Building.
