And there's one rock in this whole place that I really wanted
to get a picture of. It is a piece of the meta-sedimentary rock
that most amateur artifact collectors around these parts lump
into the category of Rhyolite because it is/was one of the
main tool making stones of the aboriginals of this area.
The rock is being displayed because of the fossil that is on it,
but it gives you a good idea of how old this rock is.
The description and name is of the fossil, not the rock, but
is #5 on the description list that follows the first pic.
Cool Stuff!

And some other specimen rocks from NC.

And a few more pics of gems from NC.
The first is a collection of corundum.
The second is a really poor shot of the gemmiest Kyanite I've
ever seen before that I only included for Rebecca.
And the last is of some amethyst from Lincoln County to get
us in the mood for the Reel.

Well, like I said, Astronomy Days was the main attraction at
the museum this weekend, so yes, there were a few spacemen
walking around.

The rest of these meteoric specimens are in the personal
collection of Dr. Nicholas Gessler, who was displaying and
answering questions.
The first picture is a very large piece of the Libyan Desert Glass,
weighing in at 6500 grams. Dr. Gessler says he knows of only
one other larger specimen in the Corning Glass Museum collection.
The last few shots are of different types of meteorites and
close ups showing the Widmanstatten Patterns, sometimes
also called Thomson structures.
I must say that I went to the museum today knowing that
I was looking for Class 101 in meteorites, but I had no idea
how many different types there were! I now wonder if some
of the many heavy, ugly, iron rocks that people have
brought to me wondering if they were meteorites, and I told
them no, actually were. I also learned that the only way to
really say for sure is, if not slab them, cut a window in them
to get a good look at the rocks structure.

3 hours wasn't nearly enough time. I'll have to go back.

Joe,
Very nice report.  I have wanted to get down to the museum for a while now and keep getting delayed.  Thanks for all the pics.  I did not realise they had so many minerals on display.

Joe,

Great report and photos.  I haven't been to the new wing yet, and need to go and see the emerald donations.

I like the spheres alot, and I used to go stare at them when I worked at the museum.  The spheres, along with the ores and gemstones displayed in the same room, have been in the museum collections from the early days, 1890s to 1950s.

The other mineral specimens and gems in their small NC geology area were donated by SAS, and were part of the large NC mineral and gem exhibit the museum temporarily housed in their traveling exhibit hall in 2004. 

I have posted some photos of a few specimens you posted above, but zoomed in a little.  I also added an extra photo of specimens you did not include in your report. The glass makes it difficult to get sharp images using a hand-held digital camera, as you mentioned. 

Photo #1: Rutilated quartz, Hiddenite, Alexander Co.
Photo #2: Amethyst cluster, Reel Mine, Lincoln Co.
Photo #3: Aquamarine crystal, Vance Black Mine, Avery Co.  (Probably the largest and gemmiest aquamarine ever found in NC.  I'm surprised it was not cut into several nice gems.
Photo #4: Aqumarine crystals, Ray Mica Mine, Yancey Co. (I included this to show what the Ray Mine used to produce.)

Enjoy,

Dennis