Albert Chapman Mineral Collection

Located at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Albert Chapman’s world renowned mineral collection has had a permanent exhibition home since 1996.

The exhibition space displays over 800 specimens in differing contexts - early finds of sentimental value, regional areas, chemical groupings, and unique specimen ‘stories’. Albert Chapman was profiled throughout the exhibition, and the nature of ‘collecting’ was also explored.

This vast collection was collated and consolidated as a data base library on computer, and able to be accessed by the visitor who required more in-depth information. This allowed captioning to be kept to a minimum. Displays included an evocative audio presentation, fiber optic lighting, a variation of floor levels, and five important specimens as spectacular individual ‘guides’ leading up to the entrance.

The project team included mineralogists Lin Sutherland and Ross Pogson, and Anna Gregg who, along with myself, co-designed and project managed this important museum space.