Conference Agenda

The Jura-Museum in Eichstätt houses famous fossils like the Eichstätt specimen of Archaeopteryx. It is visited by 45.00 visitors per year with around 4000 international guests. The Jura-Museum was founded in 1976 to make the collection of the Bishops Seminar accessible to the public. The valuable fossils were given an adequate frame within the monument protected architecture of the 1970ies construction phase. The aquariums have been an important part of the museum from the beginning on. The Jura-Museum is a regional museum of the Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns (SNSB, State Natural History Collections of Bavaria), among the four others. Museums. Since its founding the museum has undergone an intense development from a “fossil gallery”” to an educational and research institution. This talk summarizes the highlights of 50 years Jura-Museum, like the discovery and study of the Juravenator. The concept of regional museums in Bavaria has proven a powerful concept over these 50 years.

The concept of evolution is traditionally associated with biology and not linked to the geosciences. However, the evolution of minerals represents a compelling and increasingly recognized field, comprehensively synthesized in the seminal review by Hazen et al. (2008). In its broadest sense, evolution describes processes of change and diversification over time. While in biology this refers to the emergence of complex, diverse life forms, the concept can be transferred to the mineral world. Mineral evolution describes the increase in mineral diversity through physical, chemical, and ultimately biological processes over billions of years.

This concept provided the framework for a recent special exhibition aimed at a general audience. It demonstrates how mineralogical museums and collections are particularly well suited to communicate such topics, as they can anchor abstract processes in material objects. The exhibition traces the evolution of minerals from the Big Bang to the present, including key events such as the formation of the Moon, the onset of plate tectonics, the Great Oxygenation Event, Proterozoic glaciations, and the Cambrian diversification of life. These stages are illustrated by outstanding specimens from the collections, including meteorites from Mars and the Moon, some of the oldest known terrestrial rocks, and a wide range of minerals.

By presenting a concept traditionally rooted in biology through mineralogical objects, the exhibition highlights the potential of collections to generate new narratives and to make complex geoscientific processes accessible to the public. It thus exemplifies how collections can actively contribute to interdisciplinary knowledge production and science communication.

Orbiculites are rare igneous rocks characterized by their distinctive spherical structures – so-called orbicules. These typically consist of concentrically arranged mineral aggregates and stand out clearly from the surrounding rock (matrix). Due to their unusual texture, orbiculites are considered among the most remarkable phenomena in petrology; their origin has not yet been conclusively clarified and remains the subject of ongoing scientific debate.

Occurrences of orbiculites have been documented worldwide, including in North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. However, the special exhibition places particular emphasis on Scandinavian regions, especially Finland and Norway, where some of the most well-known and aesthetically striking specimens have been discovered. These objects form the central component of the presentation and vividly illustrate the variability in morphology, coloration, and internal structure.

Another focus of the exhibition is on the various scientific models proposed to explain the formation of orbiculites. Among the approaches discussed are those that consider processes such as liquid immiscibility, chemical disequilibria in magma, or external factors like changes in pressure and temperature. Much of the scientific literature suggests that the formation of orbiculites cannot be explained by a single, universally valid model, but rather requires the interaction of multiple processes. Selected genetic models are presented in the exhibition in an accessible way and are contextualized through exhibits and supplementary information.

The exhibition thus offers not only an aesthetic perspective on these extraordinary rocks but also invites visitors to engage with and critically reflect on current questions in the geosciences.

The GeoMuseum at the University of Cologne houses an extensive collection of rocks, minerals, and fossils. To date, only the petrological teaching collection has been fully documented and digitised. An ongoing project aims to establish a dedicated collection of samples from the Eifel volcanic region. Though the main focus of this collection is xenoliths originating from the lower crust and upper mantle, it consists of various other volcanic rock types and minerals as well.

As a first step, the systematic mineral collection as well as various other samples are being surveyed and documented. Subsequently, selected samples are digitised using the museum’s previously established photogrammetry laboratory. Samples are weighed and photographed from multiple, rotational overlapping angles in order to generate high-resolution 3D models. These models, together with relevant metadata, will be uploaded to a newly created digital database and made accessible online while the physical samples will be organised and properly stored in museum storage facilities.

The digitisation and standardisation of the collection aim to improve long-term accessibility, scientific usability, and educational integration. The project establishes the foundation for future expansion through the incorporation of Eifel samples from external collections and strengthens the visibility of the University of Cologne as a centre for geoscientific research and collaboration.

The Mineralogical Collection at the University of Jena includes a museum. School classes, groups of children of all ages, tour groups, and individual visitors come to the museum. Students from other disciplines and high school students use the collection for internships, typically lasting 1 to 4 weeks. For several years now, middle school students (grades 7–9) have also been visiting the collection for two hours each week throughout the entire school year. As part of this, they are taking the school course “Responsibility.” Among other things, they created a quiz for students and developed guided tours of the exhibition for other students. This school year, one of the students wanted to design an exhibition, and that’s how “Minerals – Rocks – Minecraft” came to be!

The presentation aims, on the one hand, to introduce visitors who are unfamiliar with the video game to it, and on the other hand, to show and explain the minerals and rocks that appear in the game to players. Following a brief historical overview, the game’s features and the materials used are introduced. The range of minerals and rocks on display extends from classics such as lapis lazuli, obsidian, and diamond to the most recently added minerals, cinnabarite and sulfur. To complement the exhibition, visitors can also familiarize themselves with “Minecraft” through a memory game. The student was involved in every step of the process. The result is a compact, wide-ranging presentation whose individual modules are often passed on to other locations as a traveling exhibition.