CMI Critical Materials Museum Exhibit

The Critical Materials Institute developed a museum exhibit at the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum.

The Critical Materials Museum Exhibit is a prototype exhibit for education professionals interested in building a similar exhibit.

A series of "how to" reports were generated at key stages of the design-build process:

First report: Critical Materials Museum Display Status and "How-To" Report No. 1, nine-page pdf. The report includes links to exhibit case vendors and these links:
- Denver Art Museum uses rare earth magnets to display art (link no longer available)
- Earth Science Museum built a display for the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, showcasing minerals and elements used in smartphones. Here’s a video: (1:18)
- Rare Earths on display in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Museum, Hohhot, China
Second report: CMI museum exhibit report 2: What to consider before and during the Acquisition Process, six-page pdf. The report includes questions to ask for a successful design build, budget and communication, as well as a brief guide for purchasing minerals, chemicals and cases. The report includes these links for minerals:
- minfind.com - The Fine Mineral Search Engine (link no longer available)
- Xpo Press
- Collectors Edge Minerals
- Crystal Classics
- Khyber Minerals
Third report (final report): CMI museum report 3: final report, a 15-page finale includes progress update and lessons learned in creating the exhibit at Colorado School of Mines
- Appendix A: People who made the exhibit possible, 3-page pdf
- Appendix B: Table of exhibit contents on display, 12-page pdf
- Appendix C: Resources for the critical materials exhibit, 3-page pdf

Exhibit Updates

The museum exhibit opened to local visitors in December 2015. Highlights in developing the exhibit include:

Fall 2015, exhibit installation
February 2016, grand opening
Summer 2016, solar panels installed to power exhibit at the Mines Geology Museum
December 2016, Solar Installation Workshop

CMI offered a Solar Installation Workshop including more than two dozen people from Red Rocks Community College and Colorado School of Mines. RRCC Instructor Troy Wanek (Solar Energy Environments owner and solar installer), shared details of a solar install on a government building. He led the group through the install process, including a walk-through from the solar panel outside, through the warehouse, to the phosphor and efficient lighting components of the Critical Materials Exhibit. The unique solar panel installation at the CSM Geology Museum began from the donation of a CdTe solar panel (from First Solar) and a CIGS panel (from EPRI; made by Solar Frontier). These two panels (CdTe and CIGS) were installed and now power a portion of the Critical Materials exhibit inside the museum, creating the first working solar photovoltaic module system at Mines.

For further information please contact:
Cynthia Howell
Research Faculty, Education, Training and Outreach
Phone: 303-273-3651

silhouettes of people against brightly lit display case — 10/27/15 – The exhibit is progressing nicely. Our cases are in, and the interactive video display stand is up! Time to assemble all of our acquisitions! – Mandi Hutchinson, exhibit designer

four men with plaque at opening of CMI museum exhibit — February 3, 2016: The museum grand opening included Dr. Paul Johnson, president of the Colorado School of Mines, and the CMI director, deputy director and researchers.

several people observe man installing solar panel at Colorado School of Mines Geology museum — Summer 2016: Solar panels installed to power exhibit at the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum

people at solar workshop at Colorado School of Mines — December 12, 2016: CMI education and outreach offered Solar Installation Workshop to highlight the process of installing a solar panel at the Colorado School of Mines museum, which powers part of the Critical Materials Exhibit.