Polished to Perfection

The Yale Peabody Museum Has Reopened Stunning New Halls of Earth, Minerals and Space

- JAY AGUE

For more than a century, the Yale Peabody Museum's collection of minerals and gems in New Haven, Connecticut has been a must-see destination on the circuit of major natural history museums.

After its world-renowned collection of dinosaur fossils, the Peabody's Mineral Hall has always been its most popular attraction. The 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 from distinct localities across the globe.

As a university museum that integrates cutting-edge academic research into its exhibitions, the Peabody ranks among the nation’s foremost institutions and is worth the time of anyone who has visited its peers like the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

Now, after an extensive four-year renovation during which its famed collections have been out of public view, the Peabody has just reopened its expanded Halls of Earth, Minerals and Space.

Some of the rarest and most unique mineral specimens in the world are now once again accessible, dramatically restaged to inspire, engage and captivate visitors. Longtime fans of the Peabody will see newly donated pieces from some of the foremost private collectors, and newcomers will encounter a gallery experience unlike any other.

No dusty, cluttered cases. No exhaustive, multi-paragraph fine-print labels.

Instead, nearly 600 objects have been elegantly curated as if they are works of art, placed in dramatic lighting to enhance their natural beauty. For anyone who last saw the Peabody just before the pandemic, virtually all the major exhibits have been turned over with new ones on display.

And for newcomers, they’ll find an experience that’s meant to capture the imagination.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN