Geology

Geological Collections in the Sternberg Museum of Natural History

Geology is the study of the Earth. Geology collections, such as the small one here at the Sternberg Museum, consist of a representative sample of the major mineral and rock groups. The mineral collection contains a variety of major mineral groups including fluorescent and phosphorescent minerals. The igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock collections include samples from across Kansas and around the world. In addition to rocks and minerals, the geology collection here at the Sternberg Museum contains meteorites and tektites. Meteorites, which are pieces of debris from space objects such as meteors, and tektites, which are terrestrial rocks that melt and rapidly cool after a meteorite impact, provide important clues to the origins of our Solar System. The Museum has a sample of most of the meteorites that have fallen in Kansas.