Between the laboratory and the public – the Mineralogical Museum Jena as a mediator

There has been a mineralogical collection at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena for almost 250 years. It already existed before the start of teaching geoscientific issues. Today, it is more in demand than ever as a mediator between research activities in laboratories and the public. The museum serves as a showcase and explainer of scientific issues by using not only text but objects and is accepted by people of all ages because there is a low inhibition threshold for contact with science.

The Chair of General and Applied Mineralogy in Jena conducts research into mineralogical issues such as mining waste, the composition and thermodynamic and crystallographic changes of minerals and rocks in oxidation zones of ore deposits and their secondary formations. These are topics that may also concern and engage the general public in their private lives.

In addition to a permanent exhibition area special exhibitions are continuously presented twice a year. These are usually directly linked to research fields of the chair and always present the results of projects; Bachelor's and Master's theses are also included where possible. Some of the most recent exhibition themes were: Radiant beauties (here the focus was on primary and secondary uranium mineralization), Not all that glitters is gold (here the focus was on gold deposits and use of gold or substitute materials), From the depths to the light (primary and secondary ore minerals were the topic) and Raw materials - from cell phones to e-cars.