Sorbonne University Mineral Collection

Updated on September 30, 2026

On the Pierre and Marie Curie campus at Jussieu, the Sorbonne University mineral collection displays about 1,500 specimens chosen from the 16,500 it holds. It is one of the oldest mineral collections in France: its first pieces were gathered in the 19th century by the mineralogist François Sulpice Beudant. Open to the public since 1971, it has occupied a dark room since 2014, where lit cases bring out colours and crystals. This university museum is in the fifth arrondissement, near the Jardin des Plantes.

Highlights

The panoramic cases

The 24 central cases follow the classification of minerals into ten main families, from native elements to silicates. More than 1,000 different mineral species are represented.

The large specimens

The wall cases bring together the largest samples, from five continents, and show the optical phenomena of colour. Look for the large baryte from Frizington and the large purple fluorite from Alston Moor, acquired in 1848 with the collection of the Swiss naturalist Louis Jurine.

Radioactive minerals

One section recalls Henri Becquerel’s discovery of radioactivity in 1896, using uranium salts. It shows uranium minerals, some of them from deposits mined in France and Gabon.

Infos pratiques

Tips

Admission costs 6 €, or 3 € at the reduced rate for over-60s, students, jobseekers and disabled visitors, and is free for children under 12 (prices checked in September 2026). Cards are not accepted: bring cash or a cheque. With a full-price ticket from the Mines Paris Mineralogy Museum, you pay the reduced rate here within three months. The entrance is on place Jussieu, near lecture theatre 25, on the left-hand side of the main staircase.