Please note: The Mineraological Museum (Penny Hall) will be closed until further notice. Please contact (302) 831-8037 for information.
The mineral collection at the University of Delaware is an outstanding collection which numbers over 5,000 specimens, 600 of which are on display in the Irénée du Pont Mineral Room in Penny Hall.
The collection of the late Irénée du Pont forms the core of the University Mineralogical Museum. Mr. du Pont was born in 1876 and served as president of the DuPont company from 1919 to 1926. In 1919, he purchased a collection of 2,000 minerals from Tiffany jewelers which had been on display in their Fifth Avenue showroom in New York City. Over the next decade, Mr. du Pont continued to add to the collection, purchasing other wonderful specimens from Tiffanys and Ward's Natural Science Company.
When Mr. du Pont died in 1963, he specified in his will that his mineral collection was to be donated to a College or University for and used for education. The collection was offered to the University of Delaware who accepted it. The collection was on display in the Library until 1972 when the Irénée du Pont Mineral Room opened.
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Or view miscellaneous collections (not on display as separate collections):