Geological Collections, The University of Auckland

Displays in foyers and corridors are open to the general public. Also we host “The World of Fossils Big and Small”, part of the Science Faculty’s “Incredible Science Day”. On this day we display a large number of temporary exhibits so it is an opportunity to see fossils that for the rest of the year are hidden away in our research collections. This takes place on the first Monday of the July school holidays. See the Incredible Science website for further information (http://www.incrediblescience.co.nz/). While pitched at school children and their families it is a good opportunity for all to view displays of fossils not usually available to the general public. See an Incredible Science video about fossils at http://www.incrediblescience.co.nz/id/82/

The geological collections consist of several individual collections: Paleontology (Fossils), Petrology (Rocks), Mineralogy (Mineral), Speleothem (stalactites, stalagmites etc.) and Geothermal (Rocks & Minerals). In February 2008 the collections were rehoused in an off-site storage facility. They are primarily focused on research and as such the vast majority of samples are off-limits to the general public. The Paleontology Collection includes nationally and internationally significant holdings of New Zealand fossils, particularly invertebrates (both macro and micro), plants, modern and fossil birds. It also includes a large collection of Triassic and Jurassic fossils from New Caledonia and South East Asia. The Paleontology Collection also includes a significant collection of biological type specimens of both fossil and modern species. The Petrology Collection includes a large holding of North Island volcanic rocks, rocks from the mineral rich Thames-Coromandel District and rocks from the islands of the Southwest Pacific (especially New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and Samoa).