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The mineral section of the new hall contains examples of all of the principal mineral species, arranged according to a chemical classification, selected and lighted to make a vivid display of their natural beauty and color. Featured among them is a fine large specimen of smithsonite, a carbonate of zinc named for its discoverer, James Smithson, founder of the Smithsonian Institution.

Other features of this section of the hall include a spectacular display of fluorescent minerals; a cave containing yard long gypsum crystals; and a cluster of amethyst crystals weighing several hundred pounds.

This hall was planned under the scientific direction of Curator George Switzer, very ably assisted by Associate Curator Paul E. Desautels. Design and construction were by the exhibits staff of the Smithsonian Institution under the supervisition of Rolland O. Hower, and by Harry T. Wooley, design architect of the General Services Administration.

On the evening of February 5, 1959, Mr. Edmund C. Monnell opened formally the Maude Monell Vetlesen Collection of Chinese Jade Carvings of the 16th to the 19th centuries. The dedication ceremony, held in the rotunda of the Natural History Building, was attended by Mr. Richard Nixon, Vice President of the United States and Regent of the Smithsonian Institution, the Honorable Wylie T. Buchanan, chief of Protocal of the United States, and many other notables.

The collection is housed in a beautifully appointed room, especially designed and built for it, adjoining the Gem and Mineral Hall.