Geology Museum
While philosophizing about this tropical weather, 40 degrees Celsius yesterday and a typhoon last night, Metropotam reached the conclusion that (we’re all going to die) our only refuge is in the depths of the Earth, leaving the surface for unfriendly winds and animals, leaving the sun naked, just like in Asimov’s SF novel, living in safety from climate’s moods that just can’t stand us any longer.
Metropotam went today to look for a home, and he figured the Geology Museum is a good place to start. It wasn’t hard to find, he just followed the traces stuck on the wide sidewalk between Kiseleff to Piata Victoriei.
The building is the ex geology institute, founded in 1906, right across from the Romanian Peasant Museum (link). It’s a good place to be, even if you are not the “museum-kind-of-person”. Take a break from all that clubbing and enjoy your ride to the depths of the world. It’s nice and chilly :)
The museum is a little bit too science-oriented, you might think that it targets specialists rather than kids dragged by the Geography teacher.
The rooms, with very diverse exhibits, diagrams, sketches, drawings and explanations, cover all geologic sciences, from mineralogy to petrography on the ground floor, then an impressive collection of stones (brought from Baia Mare, which is famous for its mining areas).
quartz
pyrite
the oldest rocks are almost 2 billion years old, and the ones that bear the oldest traces of life are aprox. 600 million years old
Lucy!
The first floor hosts the paleontology and stratigraphy rooms, which begin with explanations of Metropotam fossils in the shape of petrified rocks, go through sketches that make you regret you skipped the geography high school courses and end with... dinosaurs. Ridiculous, a little frightening and made out of plastic… it’s fantastic.
Follow the colorful traces leading to the basement, made by a baby dinosaur that accidentally stepped into a paint can.
Here you’ll find the fluorescent mineral room, many more than at the Antipa Museum, plus the beautiful colors (we can’t add more since we don’t have a background in the field).
The kids will be particularly fond of all these types of minerals that seemed to be straight out of space, while the older visitors will maybe understand the beginning or this lump of earth that slowly roll around the sun.
The museum has also some educational programs, Earth for the young, Dinosaur Era. It is open everyday from 10 to 18, the entrance ticket is 5.5 lei (2.5 for kids), and if you want a guide (in English or French) that’s 20 lei.
Also see the photo gallery
