The (New) Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum
Tucson Arizona
(in the historic Pima County Courthouse)
On a recent trip to Arizona, we visited the newly opened Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum in downtown Tucson. Wow. While the mineral collection is worldwide in scope, there is an obvious attempt to highlight local Arizona and Southwestern USA mineral localities. The resulting displays are indeed spectacular. Many of the specimen labels credit the piece as having been donated by a wide array of prominent mineral collectors.
The museum is a unit of the University of Arizona but it is located conveniently downtown in the old Pima County historical building which has been fabulously repurposed for the museum. Some of the cases are exclusively devoted to specific minerals, some are comprehensive collections of different minerals from the same location, and some are educational in the sense of describing how a geologic event created the minerals. Each of the displays is a feast for the eyes and the museum planners have left plenty of space for acquisition to display future acquisitions. No matter whether your serious interest is cut gemstones, beautiful mineral crystals, meteorites, or general geology, this is an attraction that is bound to please even the most particular connoisseur. The next time you are in Tucson, be sure to visit this great new addition to our hobby. Your planning can be aided by checking out their website at https://gemandmineralmuseum.arizona.edu/ |