PAN MUZEUM ZIEMI W WARSZAWIE

The exhibit stand mainly presents documents on the history of geology. It chronicles the origins of Earth sciences in Poland and in the world. The exhibition is complemented by attractive exhibits collected by the History of Earth Sciences and Library Section.

The exhibition presents the richness of vegetation from two of the most important carbon geologic periods in the Earth’s history: Carboniferous and Neogene. It presents reconstructions of various plant communities accomplished based upon fossils found in sediments accompanying bituminous (black) coal deposits (Carboniferous) and brown coal (lignite) (Neogene). The fossil plant specimens originate from the Upper and Lower Silesian coal deposits as well as brown coal mines in Turoszów, Konin and Bełchatów and from the site in Dobrzyń nad Wisłą town.

Our exhibition also intends to remind the visitors that coal is not only the basic energy source in Poland, but also that it is an interesting sedimentary rock of plant origin.

We proudly present the ninth permanent exhibition dedicated to amber in the premises of the Polish Academy of Sciences Museum of the Earth. This time, attention was paid to the distribution of amber and other fossil resins in Poland and in the world. Apart from specimens illustrating the richness of amber varieties and remarkable world of inclusions (animal and plant), we also present research interpretations on the genesis of amber and reconstruction of the amber forest. By means of raw materials from Sambia (Russia), Ukraine and Bitterfeld (Germany) as well as secondary deposits of the Baltic Sea shoreline, it has been identified where amber deposits were made at least 40 million years ago, where it can be found in Poland and why exactly there.

The section dedicated to the use of amber presents variety of its types, amber processing techniques and products related to folk medicine and traditional beliefs. A special component of the exhibition are fossil resins from all over the world (different from Baltic amber), which nowhere else in Poland – apart from the Museum of the Earth – can be admired in such diversity.

Meteorites have always been of particular interest. Traces of fascination with the mysterious „stones from the sky” can be found in the oldest manuscripts. Collection of meteorites presented at our exhibition was gathered by the Museum of the Earth Society before World War II. The newest specimens come from recent years. At the exhibition, Polish meteorites (including the unique collection of Pułtusk and Łowicz meteorites) deserve special attention. In addition to objects from the asteroid belt, we also present very rare meteorites originating from the Moon and Mars. The exhibition of meteorites collections gathered in the Polish Academy of Sciences Museum of the Earth creates an extraordinary opportunity to meet exceptional „guests from the space”.

Stone has accompanied us since the dawn of mankind. Initially, it was a material for creating simple tools. With the development of humanity, its use has changed to such extent that many ultra-modern technologies cannot be refined without mineral resources.

The exhibition presents a rich collection of rocks and minerals accompanying the everyday human life, both today and in the past. An overview of minerals with diverse application was supplemented by information on their properties, legends related to them and commonly used imitations.