COLLECTIONS

Records indicate that the original collection T.B. and Nellie Gillespie donated to Stetson University in 1958 consisted of some 25,000 specimens. After the original collection was donated, T.B. travelled on numerous mineral hunting expeditions with Dr. Robert S. Chauvin, Executive Director and former Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and Professor of the Department of Geography/Geology. The Ross and Ethel Glenn Collection was one of the last major acquisitions purchased.

The Gillespie Collection is sorted into many categories - by specimen number, Berzelian Classification, Geographic location, and specialized categories. We are currently sorting through this information in an effort to construct an online database which will catalogue not just the Gillespie Collection, but the entire stock of minerals at the museum. This "Main Library" will be available to the public in the near future. For now, summaries of the private collections can be found below.

MAIN LIBRARY
(under construction)

Private Collections

The Ross and Ethel Glenn Collection
The Leafy B. Watt Fluorescent Collection
Tampa Bay, Florida Coral Collection
Florida Rocks, Fossils, and Minerals Collection
Petrified and Agatized Wood Collection
Pseudo Morphic and Para Morphic Collection
The Fossil Collection
The Gemstone Collection


Thanks to a number of individuals throughout the years, we have been fortunate to receive several private collections.

LINKS TO COMPREHENSIVE MINERAL DATABASES:
Amethyst Galleries
The Mineral & Gemstone Kingdom
Mineralogy Database

EXHIBITS

The collections that we receive are processed and catalogued and those specimens which fit into preexisting exhibits are put on display in the museum. Below is a list of those permanent exhibits.

The Underground World

The History Corner

Florida's Natural Communities

Gemstones

All Sorts of Quartz

The Connections Room