UL Lafayette: Geology: Department: Museum

The Department: Geology Museum

The Geology Museum welcomes students from all schools in Acadiana and will provide a guide for field trips with classes, boy and girl scout troops, and other organizations.
The museum contains rocks, minerals, and fossils from around the world as well as outstanding specimens donated to the museum by the family of Mr. William C. Graves.

Location
The museum is located on the UL campus in Madison Hall (Engineering Building) on Rex Street on the second floor (Room 244).

Directions
Click here for a map of Madison Hall showing location of museum!
Click here for a map of UL Lafayette campus showing Madison Hall (PDF)!

Hours
Monday through Friday 9.00 am - 5.00 pm
Closed on Saturday and Sunday and major university holidays.

Admission
Free to the public

For more information and to make arrangements call (337) 482-6468 or send an email to geology@louisiana.edu

The Museum
In 1976, Curtis D. Terry, president of Three S and T Oil Company, Inc. donated a mineral collection and museum cases to the Geology Department at UL. Glass-topped tables were moved to the center of room 244 Madison Hall with the new cases at the north and south ends of the room. In 1979, the displays were updated and enhanced by a geode collection that was donated to the department. The Geology Museum is visited every year by elementary, middle, and high school classes from the Lafayette area. Other groups, such as boy scouts, girl scouts, and home-school groups visit often as well.

In 1997, a small seismograph was installed in one of the built-in cases. It is attached to a computer monitor so that students and visitors can watch seismic activity as recorded by the sensor. Dr. Daniel Tucker recorded one or two seismic events on floppy disks which can be replayed for visitors, graduate students or faculty. In 1998, the family of Mr. William C. Graves donated his impressive collection of rocks, fossils, and minerals to the Geology Department. This collection has been catalogued and stored in the Museum.

Allosaurus skull

Document last revised Tuesday, February 8, 2005 11:04 AM