Crystallography matters ... more!

Many initiatives have been and are being organized to involve schoolchildren at Mudaliarpet, Pondicherry (India) into crystallography on the occasion of IYCr2014.

1. At first, the students were given a brief introduction on various crystals, which made them think about how crystals are formed.

2. Following this, a team of students were selected for a project on Crystal Growth - investigating the size, shape and number of crystals formed, taking various substances such as table salt, sugar, epsom salt, borax, potassium nitrate and alum. 

3. A Radio Talk was given by the teacher and the students on the "International Year of Crystallography".

4. A lecture was given on the topic to the school students, following which a demonstration -cum- exhibition, along with a poster presentation by the teacher is to be arranged for view for the public around the school locale. 

5. A next attempt to telecast the above in the television is made.

6. Students of our school are participating in the IYCr2014 Crystal Growing Competition. 

Eine neue Kluft im Steinbruch Eibenstein lieferte beachtliche Kalzitkristalle, z.T. Phantombildungen und Kalzite in Chalcedon.

Aus Motlas O.Ö. wurden herrliche Quarz-Stufen, Andalusit, Beryll, Schörl und Orthoklas angekauft.

In der Mittelvitrine werden aus der Studiensammlung des Museum besondere Stufen ausgestellt: Einzel-Quarzkristalle und Stufen (auch Amethyst), sowie seltene Mineralien wie Amstallit, bzw. aus dem Fundort Kottaun; ferner Beryll, Chalcedon, Schörl u.a.

Ebenso wurde der größte Feldspatkristall Österreichs aus Wanzenau bei Rosenburg dem Krahuletz-Museum übergeben und ist dort im Rahmen der Mineralien-Dauerausstellung zu sehen.

Crystals - known to everybody as gems, snow crystals, or salt grains - are widespread in the nature around us. The investigation of their structure and properties means looking inside the intimate of atom geometries - a look contributing to the scientific development of chemistry, solid state physics, Earth sciences, and even, surprisingly, biology and medicine. A century has passed since the crystals first revealed their secrets. In the meantime crystallography has become the pillar of the atomic and molecular sciences, showing us the structure of DNA, allowing the comprehension and the development of computer memories, visualizing the formation of proteins within cells, and yielding ever new materials and drugs.

The exhibition organized at the University of Parma in collaboration with IMEM-CNR wishes to celebrate the theoretical and applied aspects of crystallography. A special section of original artworks related to crystallography is organized in collaboration with the Archive of Modern Art of the University of Parma.

Sections:

• Crystals around us: all the faces of cheese, ham, sugar, icecream and medicines
• Crystals underground and from the space: minerals and meteorites
• Journey inside a crystal: from structure to properties
• Functional crystals
• The crystals in life
• The life of crystals
• Crystals and symmetry, Escher and beyond
• Crystals and modern arts
• A closer look to crystals: instruments and experiments
• Home made crystals: hands on section with experiments for kids

Five Lectures by Uruguayan scientists: Álvaro W. Mombrú, Horacio Botti, Ricardo Faccio, Natalia Álvarez and Leopoldo Suescun will take place at the Museo de Historia Natural Carlos A. Torres de la Llosa of Montevideo on Thursday evening (6-8 PM) on the 9th, 16th and 23rd October to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography 2014.

Target audience is the general public but particularly students and teachers in the Natural Sciences area. 

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Cinco charlas de Divulgación por científicos Uruguayos Álvaro W. Mombrú, Horacio Botti, Ricardo Faccio, Natalia Álvarez and Leopoldo Suescun tendrán lugar en el Museo de Historia Natural Carlos A. Torres de la Llosa de Montevideo, los jueves 9, 16 y 23 de octubre de 18:00 - 20:00 hs. para celebrar el Año Internacional de la Cristalografía 2014.

Las charlas están dirigidas a público en general, pero particularmente a Estudiantes de Formación Docente y Profesionales en las áreas de Ciencias Naturales. 

Download the poster 

Cette exposition du Muséum d'Histoire naturelle de La Rochelle est labellisée « Année internationale de la cristallographie 2014 » sous le haut patronage de Madame Geneviève Fioraso, Secrétaire d'état à l'Enseignement Supérieur et à la Recherche.

La partie centrale de l’exposition est réservée à la vie, au voyage géologique et aux travaux scientifiques de Louis-Benjamin Fleuriau de Bellevue (1761-1852). Il a reçu une formation de physicien naturaliste à Genève, une des académies les plus influentes de l’Europe continentale où ses professeurs participent à l’essor des nouvelles disciplines que sont la géologie et la minéralogie. L’élève Fleuriau devient à son tour un acteur de la cristallographie naissante, de la nouvelle minéralogie qui en découle et de la géologie moderne fondée sur l’observation de terrain. L’exposition propose des objets historiques ayant appartenu à Fleuriau et aux deux pères français de la cristallographie, Romé de L’Isle et Haüy.

Autour de Fleuriau, une approche ludique et didactique du monde minéral permet à tous de découvrir ce qu’est un cristal et un minéral. L’exposition de minéraux et d’instruments de mesures est associée à des jeux, des manipulations, des observations macro et microscopiques. Les visiteurs s’initient à la minéralogie, l’exposition les guide à identifier des formes géométriques simples, des caractéristiques évidentes (couleur, poids, forme évocatrices) afin de caractériser et d’identifier quelques minéraux essentiels.

This exhibition 'Kristallen verhelderd' aims at giving an overview of the history of crystallography (including a selected exhibit of minerals), introduce the work of Laue and the Braggs, present the pionieering work performed at Ghent University and show some recent applications of crystallography in solid state physics. 

The exhibition is aimed at both secondary schools, researchers and the general public. It is organized by the Museum of the History of Sciences at Ghent University, in collaboration with the Department of  Solid State Sciences and the Department of Geology and Soil Sciences.

The opening is scheduled on June 23rd, with the presence of Professor Robert Huber, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. The results of the Photo Contest will be announced.

The Australian satellite of the IYCr2014 photo competition Crystallography in Everyday Life saw Crystal 29 conference delegates select their favorite images from more than 130 entries submitted world-wide.

The 15 stunning images celebrate the wonder of crystallography, symmetry and crystals as symbolized in the places, objects and experiences of everyday life and will now form part of the traveling exhibition around Australia.

Graziano Lolli from Italy won the first prize in this category with a photo of "romanesco broccoli".

The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History proudly announces its upcoming exhibition: CRYSTALLOGRAPHY: Where Art & Science Collide, on display from September 18, 2014 –January 17, 2015.

On Thursday, September 18th, at 6 PM, a free public lecture featuring David Gardner, Master Jeweler and Gemologist, was followed by an open reception with refreshments and gallery viewing.

This year marks the centenary of the birth of modern crystallography, a science studying the composition and structure of crystals. Crystallographers provide fundamental knowledge and technology essential for the development of new materials.

Crystallography has become the very core of structural science, revealing the structure of DNA, allowing us to understand and fabricate computer memories, showing us how proteins are created in cells, and helping scientists to design powerful new materials and drugs. It permeates our daily lives and is essential in agro-food, aeronautics, automobiles, cosmetics, and computers, as well as the electro-mechanical, pharmaceutical and mining industries. Because of the beauty and symmetry of crystals, they also figure prominently in architecture, art forms, and jewelry.

This exhibition will offer visitors an overview of the many applications of the science of crystallography. Materials on display will include stunning specimens from the Museum’s extensive mineral collection and will showcase examples of crystals used in art and jewelry.

This exhibit was made possible in part through Hotel Tax Revenue funded from the City of College Station through the Arts Council of Brazos Valley and through David Gardner’s Jewelers. The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History is committed to promoting science, and cultural and natural history with the integration of art in exhibits and educational programs.

The Museum is open to visitors Tuesday-Saturday from 10 am-5 pm. For more information about this adult program, exhibits and other displays, events, programs and activities, please contact the Museum at 979-776-2195, visit us on the web at www.brazosvalleymuseum.org, or follow us on Facebook.

El Museo de Historia Natural "Dr. Carlos A. Torres de la Llosa" de Montevideo, Uruguay ha realizado una exhibición especial de Cristales y Estructuras Cristalinas aprovechando su colección de minerales para celebrar el Año Internacional de la Cristalografía 2014. En la exposición se agregan a los minerales algunas figuras con las estructuras atómicas correspondientes.

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The Natural History Museum "Dr. Carlos A. Torres de la Llosa" of Montevideo, Uruguay has created a special exhibit of Crystals and Crystal structures using its own minerals collection to celebrate the International Year of Crystallography 2014. The exposition contains some figures with the atomic structures of the selected minerals.

This exhibition presents 29 paintings inspired by crystallographic concepts, selected among the 80 participants of the Art Contest "cristalizARTE. Cuando el arte se encuentra con la ciencia". Artists from all over Argentina were divided into two categories according to their age: adults and teenagers under 18 y.o.

You can also visit our website to see the participating artworks, as well as the Winners of the contest.

Photos of the opening day
 

To celebrate the UN International Year of Crystallography 2014, the association AMMS-InterESST Strasbourg (Association for Museology and Scientific Mediation - Strasbourg's Alumni network of the European Studies of Society Science, and Technology), with various collaborators, principally the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), have the honor to present the multi-axial project “La Cristallographie et nous - Crystallography in our life”.

The project discusses mainly about human health and proposes to discover the vast field of crystallography. Our goal: to celebrate the crystallography year as charted by the IYCr2014 program but also as a "traditional" science in the Strasbourg University and as a significant contribution to the scientific reputation of the city of Strasbourg and the region of Alsace. Our wish is to make this event a prelude to the International Year of Light in 2015.

The project includes: 

1. A travelling exhibition in Alsace called "La Cristallographie et Nous" (Crystallography in our life) during 2014 and 2015. The exhibition will first move on three of Strasbourg’s University campus: “Central Campus”, "Illkirch Campus", "Medicine Campus" and then will continue to travel in other Alsatian towns. It will start on the 2nd October 2014 at the Le Bel Institute, and will end in May 2015. The project focuses on three features: crystallography in our daily life, crystallography as a central tool for biology, medicine and pharmacology and crystallography and arts.
2. Labs tours in the new “Integrative Biology Center” located in Illkirch during the month of November 2014. Especially for this occasion, there will be a mini-exhibition in the building.
3. Tasting and prevention workshops called "Crystals in our dinner plates" focused on discovering crystals in our daily food will be proposed during the french national science festival, "Fete de la Science2014" on the 17, 18 and 19 October 2014. Elaborated in collaboration with the University Service of Medicine and Health Promotion (SUMPS) and the IGBMC, those workshops will present different crystals in our food and try to answer to these questions: Are they good for our health? What are the purpose of vitamins and minerals in our diet? How the researchers study these vitamins and their effects on our health? 
4. A publication about the project and the exhibition.

Dans le cadre de l’Année Internationale de la Cristallographie 2014 de l’ONU (IYCr2014), l’AMMS - InterESST Strasbourg (Association de Muséologie et Médiation Scientifique - Réseau Alumini du programme European Studies of Society, Science, and Technology de Strasbourg) en collaboration principale avec le Docteur Dino Moras de l’IGBMC (Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire) présentera le projet multiaxial sur la thématique de l’Homme et sa santé qui s’intitule « La cristallographie et nous » pour célébrer la cristallographie ainsi que son lien fort avec l’Université de Strasbourg et sa contribution au rayonnement scientifique de Strasbourg et de l’Alsace durant l’année universitaire 2014-2015 principalement sur le campus Central, le campus d’Illkirch et le campus de Médecine. L’accent sera mis sur le rôle de la cristallographie dans notre quotidien tout en appuyant sur son utilité en biologie, médecine et pharmacologie et en mettant en évidence ses liens vers d’autres domaines tels que l’art, les mathématiques, l’alimentation, ...

Ce projet comportera une exposition itinérante sur toute l’Alsace durant l’année 2014–2015, des visites de laboratoires de recherche du nouveau Centre de Biologie Intégrative à Illkirch et des ateliers de dégustation et de prévention axés sur la découverte pendant la Fête de la Science 2014. 

L’exposition « La cristallographie et nous ». Elle va itinérer dans un premier temps sur les campus strasbourgeois (central, médecine, Illkirch) et ensuite se déplacera dans les agglomérations alsaciennes. Elle commencera à partir du 2 octobre 2014 à l'Institut Le Bel, et prendra fin en mai 2015. Notre volonté est qu’elle soit aussi une introduction à l’Année Internationale de la Lumière en 2015.

The exhibition "Living with crystal" (original title in Slovenian: Živeti s kristali), organized on the occasion of the International Year of Crystallography, will be open from 13 February 2014 to 11 January 2015 at the Slovenian Museum of Natural History, Ljubljana. 

On display: Photographs of minerals, Crystal drawings, Mineral and crystal collections, Jewellery, Fluorescent minerals, Interactive presentation of minerals and rocks on Biedermeier tables, Interactive play "Umek the Mineralogist", Microscopic world of crystals.

Authors: Miha Jeršek, Mirjan Žorž, Breda Činč Juhant, Katarina Fuchs