The Mineralogy Museum of the Babeş-Bolyai University (UBB) was originally conceived as a place for studying and deepening knowledge for geology students and other specialists in the field. The Mineralogy Museum began its activity as a section of the Transylvanian Museum Society, founded in Cluj in 1859. With the opening of the Cluj University in 1872, these collections were used as teaching material, with the professors of the Department of Geology and Mineralogy having the responsibility of caring for and developing them. The collections were moved to the current headquarters of the university, when it was put into use, in 1902, and they occupy the same rooms today. Starting with 20...02, the Didactic Collection of Minerals and Rocks opened its doors to the general public. The museum currently contains 18,000 exhibits (including around 14,000 mineral samples, over 3,700 processed gemstones and over 200 meteorites), grouped into several thematic collections (based on systematic and geographical criteria). The permanent exhibitions (Systematic Collection, Regional Collection, Meteorites and Gems) partially occupy the two halls of the museum and, in the case of the Crystallography Collection, part of the lobby of the Department of Geology (Mineralogy).
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