Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

My hubby and I took a day trip to Washington, DC for our anniversary, and I had an absolute blast. We visited a couple of the Smithsonian museums, one of which houses the Smithsonian's gem and mineral collections.

Oh. My. Word. May I just say that if you have the least bit of interest in either jewelry gems OR natural minerals, this exhibit is an absolute must-see if you have any way to visit Washington, DC.

I took a bunch of photos with my iPhone, and my phone spent most of the afternoon uploading them to Dropbox.

Here are some of the highlights.

The Hope Diamond. My own diamond perked right up in the presence of the most famous member of its family. I do believe it was excited to meet a celebrity. :)


The world's largest flawless quartz sphere. Oh, how I wished I could take this one home! I am such a sphere addict, lol, and this one is just mind-boggling. It's an incredibly potent stone. I asked my hubby to take a photo of me with the sphere, and it was his idea to shoot a picture THROUGH the sphere. :)


Just WOW. Imagine multiple rooms' worth of incredible specimens like this.


The Smokey Quartzes in the foreground are amazing, but my target in this image was the Y-shaped stone. That's a bunch of Herkimer Diamonds all grown together.


This Rose Quartz specimen is incredible. I have never in my life seen it in the form of visible crystals. I've only ever seen it in jewelry, tumbled, in raw chunks, etc. Moreover, WOW what a hue!


Continued...

Here is the info about the Rose Quartz:


I took one look at these two samples and said, out loud, "Oh! Look at those great phantoms!", earning me some curious glances from people standing nearby. But just look at them -- what stone aficionado WOULDN'T react? :)


And here is the entire display on phantoms, including the information:


I'll look through the rest of my pictures and post the best ones to Photobucket. But I am going to be all excited for days after seeing all those stones in one place, both the cut gems AND the natural ones.

There were so many people present that I couldn't just open up to the energies of the stones, as I'd have liked to do. I could feel lots of energy, but going into "open" mode around hundreds of people was giving me all THEIR energies, too. There wasn't any negative energy from them, but there were just so many of them that their energies were just... LOUD.

However, the stones themselves had friendly dispositions and the ones I connected with seemed willing to share energies with people who were so inclined. So maybe I'll send my attention long-distance to that location after the museum is closed (and empty of noisy-energy-bearing people). Then maybe I can get a fix on JUST the stone energies.

There were SO MANY stones there, even the most major stone nerd of all time will see specimens that are completely new to them. Did I mention that this exhibit is a must-see? :)

I'm turning in now. I'm exhausted, but in a good way.

What fantastic pictures! Thank you for sharing.

I'm really in love with the Y-shaped Herkimer Diamonds. So pretty.

Just amazing photos. x

I went there back in 2008 when I wasn't into crystals or gemstones. This was even before I started meditating again. I'd love to go back there again and see what I pick up from the energy in that display now.

Beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing! I'd love to go and see them one day. . .

Thanks for the compliments! Here are a few more items from yesterday...

There were a few items -- like a huge cathedral Quartz and this enormous Amethyst cluster -- that were labeled "Please Touch". You'll never have to ask ME twice to touch such an amazing specimen, lol.


There were incredible Fluorite specimens of every imaginable color. Including this immense one with a hue I've never seen before. This was another one that I took one look at and instantly thought, "I want this in my house!"


Here is a truly massive Rhodochrosite:


And here is something I never knew existed. GEMMY Rhodochrosite! I never knew it could be translucent:

I understand that Hematite referred to as "bloodstone" in some countries (whereas in the USA, our "bloodstone" stone is the green one with red spots, of which I saw a sample in among the display showing the many forms of Quartz). I know that Hematite has a red streak pattern, and I know iron is a main component of the stone, so I figured that's where it got its name.

But Hematite is also a form of iron oxide, and... it can RUST. Here is a natural sample of Hematite, and NOW I understand where it would get the name "bloodstone". Look at the color of it when it's covered with a layer of rust:


And then there was this example of Quartz, in a shape I would never have imagined Quartz could assume: a HONEYCOMB.


Here is the official explanation for this astounding formation:


And here is the best part of all. The Smithsonian's official stance is that all these stone belong to all the American people. I would go even farther and say that because they are in a museum that (justifiably) attracts worldwide attention, they belong to ALL of us. They're your stones, and they're my stones too. Isn't it wonderful to know that we all have such an incredible crystal collection to draw from? :)

[Belle]

These are just amazing, thank you so much for sharing them. I feel all tingly and excited from seeing the stunning pictures.

[CrystalSong]

Holy Cow! What a collection! You must have been high as a kite!

Don't know how you did it, I would have been buzy like a bee with energy before even entering the exhibit! I can hardly stand OUTSIDE rock shops with large gems emitting energy. You must have been swimming in 100's of frequency's!

[Dee47]

Stunning! Thanks for sharing Likes2Read. That Hematite is really impressive. And I didn't know rhodochrosite ever came in such big pieces!