The Geological Museum of the Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences

ul. Senacka 1,
31-002 Kraków

phone 12 422 19 10
phone 12 422 89 20
Fax 12 422 16 09
page museum

How to get there :

on foot

by car

Public Transport

Opening hours

Thursday — Friday

10.00 — 15.00

Saturday

10.00 — 14.00

Ticket Prices

normal 4 PLN reduced 3 PLN

“Imilac” meteorite

In the meteorite classification, Imilac belongs to a small group called pallasites. They are intermediate meteorites between stony and iron meteorites. The metal does not constitute a conjoined and uninterrupted structure here, but it occurs in the form of larger and smaller fragments of meteorite iron fused with a mass of silicate minerals, mainly olivines.

“Cymatoceras patens” nautilida

Cymatoceras patens nautilida is one of the representatives of an extinct group of cephalopods living in the sea of the Upper Cretaceous, which covered the area of present day Poland 100.5 to 66 million years ago.

“Didymoceras sp.” ammonite

Didymoceras-sp ammonite was a representative of an abundant group of extinct cephalopods living in the seas of the Upper Cretaceous, which covered the territory of present day Poland. The presented specimen is especially attractive due to its atypical shape, taking the form of a spiral rolled perpendicularly.

“Volutis pina casimiri” snail

Volutis pina casimiri snail is a fossil of a snail of the Volutidae family encrusted by worms and bryozoans (a water invertebrate which formed colonies). The presented form is a kind of a fossilised natural cast, which was created when the softer parts of the organism became pickled.

Grinder of a mammoth “Mammuthus Primigenius”

The presented object is a grinder of a woolly mammoth (Mammuthus Primigenius) – an extinct herbivorous mammal of the elephantine family.

Impression of an insect (fossil dragonfly) in lithographic limestone

The presented specimen is an impression of a fossil dragonfly of the species, Mesuropetala, preserved in lithographic limestone, which was found in Solnhofen, Germany. The specimen is 144–155 million years old.

Cellular dolostone

Dolostone is a sedimentary carbonate rock of chemical origin, composed mainly of a mineral called dolomite. Due to the different forms of its development, we can single out primeval dolomites, which develop as a result of the direct precipitation of dolomite from sea or lake water rich in magnesium, and secondary dolomites, which develop by the process of the partial supplantation of calcium carbonate by magnesium carbonate.

Septarian concretion of polygonal pattern

Septarian, marlite or clayish and ferruginous concretion is a type of spherical, elliptical or lens-shaped aggregate of minerals occurring within sedimentary rocks, e.g. loam.

Calcite (“druse”)

Calcite is a mineral of the carbonate class, also known as calcium carbonate. Its name derives from the Greek word chalix and the Latin word calx (calcis) – meaning “calcium”, which is a reference to the traditional application of this mineral. It develops isometric, plate, prism and needle crystals.

Limonite dripstone

Limonite (brown iron ore) is a fine-grained or cryptocrystalline mixture of iron oxides and hydroxides which used to be regarded as a separate mineral, and now it is regarded as a type of rock. It is mainly made of goethite, a mineral of the hydroxide class.

Cellular limonite

Limonite (a brown iron ore) is a fine-grained or cryptocrystalline mixture of iron oxides and hydroxides which used to be regarded as a separate mineral, but now is regarded as a type of rock. Limonite's name derives from the Greek word λειμωυ, meaning “meadow”, and is a reference to its common occurrence in the form of turf ores in wetlands.

“Morasko” iron meteorite

The story of its discovery started in the area of Morasko village (at present, a district of Poznań) in 1914. During works connected with digging trenches for Prussian soldiers, Dr. Cobliner, the sergeant, found a heavy and rusty lump of iron in the ground, which weighed about 78 kilograms. The find was handed over to the Astronomical Observatory in Spandau near Berlin, where it was examined.

“Grzempy” stone meteorite (H5 chondrite)

“A certain Bydołek, a farmer from the village of Grzempy, while working in his homestead, suddenly saw a »fiery sphere« falling to the ground. While falling, the sphere broke off some branches of a nearby tree and became stuck in the ground. At the same time, a fierce, thunder-like clatter could be heard, and »fumes resembling burnt sulphur were present«...

Native bismuth

Native bismuth is a mineral of the native element group, which very rarely occurs in nature, developing small rhombohedral or cuboid forms that resemble crystals. It usually develops grainy aggregates – compact, lamellate or dendritic.

“Kidney-shaped” malachite

Malachite is a mineral of the carbonate class, one of the most common minerals and it is widely spread throughout the Earth’s crust. From antiquity, it has been valued as an ornamental stone, amulet and as a medicine. Malachite has been used to produce jewellery, household goods, facing plates used for interior finishing, as well as green dyes and paints.

Skeleton of an ichthyosaur “Ichthyosaurus communis”

Ichthyosaurs were sea reptiles which evolved in the Middle Triassic, reached the peak of their development in the Jurassic, and became extinct in the Upper Cretaceous. The presented skeleton of an ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurus communis was preserved in slates.

Star-shaped quartz

Quartz is a mineral belonging to the silicate group, mainly made of silicon dioxide. It is one of the most abundant rock-forming minerals present in the Earth’s crust. It is a brittle and transparent mineral. It can develop numerous colour variants, depending on its composition. It can be colourless, as well. Such quartz is called rock crystal.

Ferruginous quartz