Some of my favorite birds include owls. The museum has an extensive display of birds, as well as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and others. Here are two of the many owls that are featured.
One of the new displays features the state symbols for the state of Michigan. Many of these have been declared since I was in school, so they were new to me.
The first state symbol was declared in 1897 -- Apple Blossom. I have lots of apple trees on my property, so I am happy with this state symbol.
The state bird was declared in 1931 -- American Robin.
In 1990 Kalkaska Sand was declared to be the state soil.
In 1955 the White Pine was declared to be the state tree. Before the logging era, the forests around Grand Marais were dominated by white pine.
In 1997 the White-tailed Deer was declared to be the state mammal.
The painted turtle is the state's reptile (as of 1995).
In 1998 the state declared the now threatened dwarf lake iris as the state wildflower.
In 1988 the brook trout was declared to be the state fish.
In 1965 the Petoskey Stone was declared to be the state stone.
The Isle Royal Greenstone was declared to be the state gem in 1973.
In 2002 the American mastodon was declared to be the state fossil.
On the fourth floor near the planetarium there are numerous mineral displays.
There is a display explaining selenite, which is the type of mineral that the giant crystals in Mexico are made of.
Here is a picture of the Mexican selenite crystals. Notice the man on the left side of the pictures. These are the largest crystals ever found on earth.
The Naica Mine of Chihuahua, Mexico, is a working mine that is known for its extraordinary crystals. Naica is a lead, zinc and silver mine in which large voids have been found, containing crystals of selenite (gypsum) as large as 4 feet in diameter and 50 feet long. The chamber holding these crystals is known as the Crystal Cave of Giants, and is approximately 1000 feet down in the limestone host rock of the mine.
The crystals were formed by hydrothermal fluids emanating from the magma chambers below. The cavern was discovered while the miners were drilling through the Naica fault, which they were worried would flood the mine. The Cave of Swords is another chamber in the Naica Mine, containing similar large crystals.
The Naica mine, which includes several caves, was first discovered by early prospectors in 1794 south of Chihuahua City. They struck a vein of silver at the base of a range of hills called Naica by the Tarahumara Indians. From that discovery, until around 1900, the primary interest was silver and gold. Around 1900 large-scale mining began as zinc and lead became more valuable.
In April 2000, brothers Juan and Pedro Sanchez were drilling a new tunnel when they made a truly spectacular discovery. While Naica miners are accustomed to finding crystals, Juan and Pedro were absolutely amazed by the cavern that they found. The brothers immediately informed the engineer in charge, Roberto Gonzalez. Ing. Gonzalez realized that they had discovered a natural treasure and quickly rerouted the tunnel.
At the museum, there was this cool picture of another cave. The picture is promoting a future program that will be featured at the museum about the planet earth.
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