Stanisław Józef Thugutt Geological Museum
ul. Żwirki i Wigury 93
02-089 Warsaw
Tel. (22) 554 03 36, (22) 554 00 25
muzeum.geol@uw.edu.pl
www.geo.uw.edu.pl/pl/wydzial/struktura-wydzialu/muzeum
Free admission
Mondays – Fridays: 10 am – 12 noon (advance booking is essential).
Opening hours can be extended until 3 pm upon prior notice.
Staff:
Senior curator: Mariusz Niechwedowicz PhD

The Museum of the Faculty of Geology, as it was originally called, was officially established in 1961 as an independent entity. The permanent exhibition was open from 1 October 1965. The University of Warsaw, founded in 1816, has a very long tradition of amassing geological collections. In 1817, the Royal University of Warsaw already had a Mineralogical Cabinet the early collections of which originated mainly from the Warsaw Lyceum established in 1804. On 3 October 1921, Marek A. Pawłowicz, the custodian of the cabinet, presented a report on the collections to the University Council. At that time the exhibits amounted to more than 8,000 items consisting of minerals and rocks, including the Tsar Alexander I of Russia gift to the lyceum (comprising 839 specimens – the only one to have survived to this day is the gypsum rose, originating from the Astrakhan Steppes). This historical specimen justifies the claim that the museum is the successor of the tradition of mineralogical collections at the University of Warsaw. In 1830 the collection consisted of nearly 13,700 specimens. All the remaining collections, including the numerous, and valuable, 19th- and 20th-century collections were almost completely destroyed and lost in 1939, as a result of the outbreak of the Second World War. The Stanisław Józef Thugutt Geological Museum (the name given to the institution in 2008) operates in accordance with the Regulations of the Faculty of Geology by gathering, inventorying and storing the geological collections in a form which makes them accessible for scientific and teaching purposes; gathering memorabilia related to the history of the faculty; organizing permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as carrying out educational and promotional activities. Currently (as at the end of 2019), the collection includes 28,690 specimens, including 27,940 geological and 750 photographic objects, and 24,362 have been digitized, including 23,762 geological and 600 photographic ones. The exhibition hall covers a total area of approx. 350 sq. metres. The permanent exhibition presents collections of minerals
according to mineralogical systematics and minerals from the CaCO 3 and SiO groups, as well as meteorites and stratigraphic and 2 palaeontological collections (a total of approx. 4,000 specimens). The remaining collections are kept in modernized rock and fossil storage rooms. The museum organizes temporary exhibitions, educational activities and museum lessons for students, and workshops for children. It also participates in annual science festivals. Each year the museum is visited by several dozen groups (approx. 400 people) and from 800 to 1,000 individuals. The museum employs two professional members of staff.
Marek Stępisiewicz PhD, Mariusz Niechwedowicz MSc

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