If your travels take you through southern New England this summer, be sure to stop into the Yale Peabody Museum, which officially reopened its Halls of Minerals, Earth, and Space to the public earlier this month. Within the museum, the celebrated David Friend Hall showcases one of the world's foremost collections of minerals. More than 170 specimens — some of them the largest and rarest of their kind — are now on view in the stunning and newly renovated galleries.

“I envisioned a mineral gallery for Yale designed to inspire rather than lecture," noted philanthropist David Friend. "So, we chose specimens that are jaw-droppingly beautiful. The room is subtly lit so that the specimens themselves shine, and there is a minimum of descriptive labelling. I want visitors to leave this hall overwhelmed by the beauty of what they have seen and anxious to go home and learn more, or even start collecting minerals themselves.”

David Friend Hall draws on some of the most significant private mineral collections in the United States. A 436-pound stibnite specimen donated by Robert Lavinsky, presented in a "frozen fireworks display," greets visitors as they enter the Hall. Once inside, visitors immediately view a giant 1,900-pound quartz crystal from Namibia and an enormous quartz sandstone concretion (photo, above).

The gallery integrates both free-standing, large-scale minerals with small-scale specimens in dynamic visual displays that are designed to rotate often. Customized cases and new, state-of-the art LED lighting, showcase the uniqueness of each specimen and its natural — often otherworldly — beauty.

The museum's current building, which dates back to 1925 and was named for international financier George Peabody, houses one of the nation's oldest collections of gems and minerals and the oldest meteorite collection in North America, approaching 100,000 mineral specimens and over 3,000 meteorites.

Among the many donors and lenders who contributed to the project, the Yampol Family and The Mineral Trust loaned more than 200 specimens to the museum. A highlight of their contribution is "The Rocket," the largest elbaite specimen recovered from a legendary Brazilian mine.

The Yale Peabody Museum and David Friend Hall are located on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, CT. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Credit: Photo by Andrew Melien, courtesy of the Yale Peabody Museum.