Museum PR Announcements News and Information

University of Richmond Museums opens Virginia ROCKS! Geologic Selections from the Collection

The University of Richmond Museums presents Virginia ROCKS! Geologic Selections from the Collection, on view from January 24, 2014, through June 12, 2015

Kyanite with pyrite, fuchsite and turgite in schist (detail), Charlotte County, Virginia, 14 x 11 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of Mr. B. W. Bass, R1977.01.1169 Photograph by Taylor Dabney
Kyanite with pyrite, fuchsite and turgite in schist (detail), Charlotte County, Virginia, 14 x 11 1/4 x 2 1/2 inches, Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums, Gift of Mr. B. W. Bass, R1977.01.1169 Photograph by Taylor Dabney
Including more than forty specimens from the museum’s permanent collection, the exhibition presents an introduction to geology as it relates to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The exhibition highlights the varied geological areas of the state and the processes that shaped the land. Special focus is placed on the history and future use of Virginia’s mineral and energy resources, and how these resources impact the economy and environment. The exhibition provides visitors with a broad experience of the varied types of minerals found within the Commonwealth.

Objects featured in the exhibition have been selected from the permanent collection of the Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature, University of Richmond Museums. As the University of Richmond’s natural sciences and decorative arts museum, the Lora Robins Gallery, with its collection of natural objects, cultural art and artifacts, and decorative and fine arts, includes pieces ranging from Jurassic dinosaur fossils to contemporary art. Pre-Columbian vessels, ancient coins, Hindu art, and Oceanic art complement collections of rare gems and minerals, prehistoric shells, coral, and fluorescent rocks. The museum’s collection of rocks and minerals from around the world includes an important focus on geologic specimens from the Commonwealth of Virginia and the region.

The exhibition is divided into the physiographic provinces of Virginia: the Coastal Plain, Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau. There is a strong relationship between the kinds of rocks found in a province and the topography of that province. Specimens featured in the exhibition include kyanite from Buckingham County, micas and feldspars from the world-famous Rutherford Mine in Amelia County, and coal and shale from the Appalachian plateau. Virginia’s caves and iron resources are also highlighted in the exhibition.

Lora Robins Gallery of Design from Nature
28 Westhampton Way, University of Richmond, VA 23173 Tel. 804.289.8276 [email protected]