EXHIBITION

Geology through a lense

A GROUP OF Wits alumni from the Geological Museum Association — a volunteer committee that advises and assists the management of the Johannesburg Geology Museum — have organised a “Geology Through a Lens” exhibition which will run from mid-April to end-September 2021 at the Origins Centre.

Morris Viljoen (BSc 1961, BSc Hons 1962, MSc 1964, PhD 1970) Richard Viljoen (BSc 1961, BSc Hons 1962, MSc 1964, PhD 1970) Bruce Cairncross (PhD 1987), Ian McKay (BSc 1984, BSc Hons 1985, PhD 1990, PDE), Gillian Drennan (BSc 1985, BSc Hons 1986, MSc 1988, PhD 1998) and Katherine James-Kleynhans (BA 2004, BA Hons 2005) dedicated several years of work to curate more than 300 rare and historically significant photographs.

The exhibition focuses on southern African geological scenes, minerals and gemstones via several themed categories including Diamonds, Namibia, the Northern Cape, the Bushveld Complex, the Karoo, the Witwatersrand Goldfield, Tsumeb Mine, Namibia, “Big to Small”, East African Geology and Gemstones, and Natural Art from Around the World.

The exhibition also includes displays of special fossil, gem and mineral specimens. For the first time ever, the public will be introduced to the only reconstruction of the carnivorous dinosaur Dracovenator or “dragon hunter”. This dinosaur lived in South Africa about 200 million years ago and its remains were discovered near the Drakensberg. This unique exhibition is co-hosted by the Faculty of Science and the newly established “Earth Sciences Cluster”.