Autumn Event Mineral Series: Cornwall, Mexico and Mars

With the re-opening of the Mineral Gallery in July, our autumn event series is a wide-ranging celebration of all things Cornwall, rocks, mineral and mining.

We’re bringing together an exciting mix of speakers and experiences, with a whistle-stop tour of Mars and Mexico along the way.

Whether you’re a long-term rock enthusiast or just getting to know your minerals, we challenge you to engage slightly differently with the collection, through sound and movement, as well as get in-depth expertise on the Rashleigh Collection, and rocks from Mars.

Mineral Series: Cornwall, Mexico and Mars: Dr Sharron Schwartz presents: Mexico’s ‘Little Cornwall’
Thursday 19 September 6pm-7pm Book now

It’s well known that Cornish miners led to a global diaspora of people with their origins in Cornwall. In 1824, the first party of Cornish mineworks arrived in Real del Monte-Pachuca to rehabilitate flooded and abandoned colonial silver mines as employees of the British Real del Monte Mining Company.

They founded the first Cornish community in the Latin Americas and began a process of labour migration that persisted well into the twentieth century. The Cornish introduced the machinery of the industrial revolution in the form of high-pressure steam engines, initiated cricket and football leagues, spread their Methodist faith, eventually married into local families and helped to popularise the Cornish pasty.

Dr Sharron Schwartz is born and bred in Redruth, and received her doctorate at the University of Exeter on the Cornish in Latin America. She set up the Cornish Global Migration Programme in the late-1990s, was the documentary researcher for the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site Bid and Leverhulme Research Fellow in Migration Studies at the Institute of Cornish Studies. She is the author of Mining a Shared Heritage: Mexico’s ‘Little Cornwall’ (2011), and The Cornish in Latin America: Cousin Jack and the New World (2016). She has visited various mine sites in Mexico and is a founder member of the Cornish Mexican Cultural Society.

Stone Tones with Justin Wiggan
Monday 28th October 12pm-6pm  book now

Engage in with our rock and mineral collection through sound with this exciting free workshop delivered by award-winning sound artist, Justin Wiggan.

“Stone Tones” provides a biosonic haptic stone massage, allowing attendees to experience the natural world through sound and touch. Participants will don haptic backpacks that deliver physical vibrations synchronized with the unique soundscapes generated by the museum’s geological collection.

Connecting with the vibrations and sounds of nature has been shown to offer significant well-being benefits, promoting relaxation, reducing stress, and enhancing emotional connection to the natural world. This multisensory approach encourages a deeper appreciation and emotional bond with the earth’s geological treasures, fostering a sense of tranquility and mindfulness.

Museum Late: Deep Time Moving
Thursday 7th November 6-8pm  book now

Deep Time Moving is a long-term movement-led artwork unfolding in response to the unique geology of the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, led by dancer and choreographer Kyra Norman, working with an interdisciplinary team of experienced collaborators: specialists in performance, sound, design, movement and geology.

For this special event, Kyra will lead an creative exploration of the newly reopened Mineral Gallery, including a series of practical listening, writing and gentle movement tasks, sharing some Deep Time Moving practices and materials. A unique opportunity to expand your senses of how we can experience and imagine deep time and our relationship to the rocks beneath our feet.

Alex Jones presents: Unlocking the Secrets of the Red Planet

Thursday 14^th November 6-7pm book now

The red planet is now a barren desert landscape, cold and inhospitable for life. But the surface of the Mars is covered in evidence for ancient rivers, floods and lakes, suggesting the planet may have been warmer, wetter and more pleasant for life in the distant past.

Join us for this talk with Alex Jones, a student collaborator on the NASA Perseverance rover mission, taking us on a journey to Jezero crater – the site of an ancient Martian lakebed.

Tom Cotterell presents: Discover the Rashleigh Collection
Thursday 21 November 2024, 6pm-7pm Book now

An in person talk about the Rashleigh Collection from Tom Cotterell, former museum mineralogy curator specialising in mineral identification, British topographic mineralogy, manganese mineralization and the history of mineralogy.

Museum Late: Mineral Gallery Celebration STONE CLUB TAKEOVER
Thursday 5 December 2024, 6-9pm book now

 Stone Club have been recreating prehistory since 2021. Founded by artists Lally MacBeth & Matthew Shaw, Stone Club was set up as a place for stone enthusiasts to congregate, to muse and most importantly to stomp to stones.

Stone Club aims to bring new perspectives to prehistory in a collaborative and inclusive way and believes the journey is as important as the destination and encourages people to pause and think about place in new ways; connecting ancient sites through community and conversation.

At this event, visitors will be invited on a deep dive into the Cornish landscape and the minerals that inhabit it through conversations from experts and artistic explorations of stones and minerals.