Visiting The Natural Gas Museum - History And Minerals
Most of you who know me, also know I'm a huge fan of museums and exhibitions. For me, this is an easy way of learning and an opportunity to practice photographing. You get the chance to see objects, artworks from all over the world and most likely some of these opportunities are unique and it is also a huge challenge as photographing in those conditions is anything but easy.
Today I'm going to show you an odd museum, which is the Natural Gas Museum in Mediaș, Sibiu county, Romania.
How To Get There
Getting there is easy. The museum is situated on Șoseaua Sibiului No. 5, which is the road that leads to the exit of the city, towards Sibiu. You can't miss it.
There's no entry fee, the entry is free.
Short History
The Natural Gas Museum was opened in 2010 by the Romgaz company to mark a century since the first commercial natural gas well in Romania. It tells the story of the country’s gas industry. The building is an attractive villa at Medias, in the largest natural gas field in the country. Natural gas was first found in 1909 while drilling for salt. In 1910 a project was begun to install a 55-km pipeline from Sărmășel to Turda, which in 1916 became the first city in Europe to have public street lighting by natural gas. In 1915, the first company in Europe devoted to natural gas exploitation was begun, Ungarische Erdgas Gesellschaft (UEG). This set the model of combining exploration, drilling, extraction, transportation and distribution of natural gas in one company. The museum displays historical photographs, examples of minerals, a model of a drilling rig, protective clothing, tools and equipment. It also holds an important library and archive. source
At the museum I was told
the villa was built by a Hungarian businessman, who built the glass factory as well and served as his home. Then after the communists took over, the villa was nationalized and a maternity was set up in it. After some time, the maternity got a new home and this lovely building was unused. After the communism ended, there were plans to set up a casino, but that did not happen and in 2010, the museum opened its door to the public.
The building is impressive from inside. There's a nice garden on the property, with a small pond as well.
You can sit down on a bench and enjoy all the green and the well that in a torrid summer days can be a blessing.
Romania's map with the exploitation perimeters marked. There are 17 companies in total, exploiting natural gas.
The purpose of the exhibition was to how the history and the evolution of natural gas exploitation, which is why you will see mock ups of old structures, tools and old documents as well.
A drilling rig with wooden tower and documents from 1908. Some hand written, others typed at the typewriter, as that's what they had back in those days.
Wooden drill hoe.
The natural gas industry was a very important one as the whole industry was relying on gas, so it had a special place in the Romanian philately as well. A lot of stamps have been issued over the years, that had as theme the natural gas industry.
This series was issued to celebrate the anniversary of 100 years from the year in which natural gas exploitation was begun.
As most of us are total illiterates in this regard, there were huge posters explaining the structure of the soil, the process and not only.
And this was where the fun began.
In these two rooms there were a lot of very cool minerals displayed, one more beautiful than the other. I'm not a connoisseur of minerals, barely know a few, but seeing these was an interesting experience.
Now you may ask what do these minerals have to do with natural gas. The simple answer is, quite a lot. Gas can be found at a certain depth and to get there, the drill has to go through different segments, that are made of minerals.
Although this one looks like a hedgehog, it's not, it's Stibnite, a sulfide mineral with the formula Sb2S3.
This is a type of quartz.
If you are illiterate in this industry, like me, this is the time to learn something. This is one of the reasons I like to visit exhibitions and museums. The knowledge is free as you don't buy a ticket, so it's up to you if you learn something, or not.
Baryte, barite or barytes is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate (BaSO4). Baryte is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of the element barium. The baryte group consists of baryte, celestine (strontium sulfate), anglesite (lead sulfate), and anhydrite (calcium sulfate). Baryte and celestine form a solid solution (Ba,Sr)SO4. source
Last year when I visited the mineral exhibition, I said I'm not really passionate about minerals and don't really see a connection between these rocks and myself. However, looks like our path crosses pretty often and I'm starting to like them. Obviously there's a lot to learn, but I think they are starting to grow on me. What I saw here was pretty remarkable.
I was thinking, if I were to pick a new hobby and financing my new hobby would not be an issue, I would pick jewellery. Especially making silver rings and silver earrings with some of these stones. This activity would need special equipment and knowledge as well as cutting stones is not an easy job for a newbie. Plus silver is not exactly cheap either.
Baryte.
Google translate says plaster with oxide deposits. I'm not entirely sure if it's accurate though, but love the color.
What I love about these exhibitions is that almost each time the description is bilingual, Romanian and English and many times Hungarian too, depending where you are. This makes my job a lot easier as translation is not always accurate.
Types of traps. Fascinating, isn't it? Well, traps here have a different meaning, it's not what you think.
A trap is a geological structure or a stratigraphic feature of such nature as to trap and hold hydrocarbons.
My cousin is a geologist, so I was constantly thinking of her. It's an interesting branch of natural science, but would not be my first choice. Never was 😜.
This one looked so cool.
I could imagine a necklace, earrings and a bracelet made of this stone, even if it's not precious. I have some ideas for a coll design, but who's going to cut the stone? 😂 Better stick to numbers.
This one could look interesting too.
Ladies and gents, this was the mineral part of the exhibition. The next part will be even more interesting as it'll be about the history of gas extraction, equipment, studies and related. I'll be back with the next part.
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You really have a keen interest in museums. It is "the richest place", a storehouse of invaluable knowledge, and should be the target of many parties, especially those who are thirsty for knowledge.
Your posts about various museums are very rich in explanations and very enlightening; we become aware of how our civilization was built.
In my area, museums are increasingly empty of visitors; only a few groups of school students go on excursions there; the rest are people busy with their smart phones.
The saddest thing is the lower maintenance budget; they have been wrong to assume that a museum cannot make money.
I do as it's a good place to pick up some knowledge and see what you can't see elsewhere.
It is sad to know what museums are not popular and not visited in some parts of the world. With the technology we have today, it's easy to check things online, but it's not the same as seeing things in real life.
Now, would you believe me if I would say, most of the museums and exhibitions I visit are free? The thing is, if you don't make the entrance free, then how do you expect people to come visit and learn? In my country, most of the municipalities are sponsoring these museums as these are under their care and you don't have to pay. Which is the greatest thing in the world.
I have long thought that you really like museums, often seen in travel posts you prefer to visit museum places compared to other places.
How can you take pictures in the museum easily so that the portraits are better?
Basically, it is indeed very difficult.
That is not true. I prefer to visit everything available, but only can post about things once. Most of the exhibitions are changing every two or three weeks, so this is why you see so many exhibition and museum posts.
As about taking photos in a museum, it's a huge challenge, but after some time, you get used to it and develop some kind of routine and technique. Life teaches you.
Oh... sorry @erikah I think you prefer to photograph the mesium, maybe just a coincidence when I saw your post.
Anyway, I am also interested in some of the museums you have visited there. 🙏🙏
Maybe I have to visit the museum often so that I can more easily get more perfect objects.
I will continue to learn for this.
And for me nothing is impossible if we keep learning.
Thanks for the suggestions and input, I really appreciate it.
I believe that from rarity emanates beauty @erikah. Perhaps the visit to this museum triggered something in you in relation to these stones. They fascinate me. And well, the jewelry business hahaha not a bad idea. But I thought you should put the stone inside some kind of resin. Look how I visualized the thing hahaha.
Well, the jewellery business is not a bad idea, but it won't happen as it's too much work, to many expenses and I'm not motivated enough. But, I won't say no to a workshop day or if I can observe someone doing it 😃
That would make a good post!!! Hahaha
!PIZZA
Minerals are awesome looking. I wasn’t expecting that in a natural gas museum, but it makes a lot of sense.
I wasn't expecting these in the nat gas museum either, but it's in the soil, these are forming the layers, so it's part of it. I'm glad you like them 😊
It is impressive what Mother Nature manages to "manufacture" at the cost of temperature and pressure in the depths of her being.
Very nice collection of minerals.
!PIZZA
You are so right. One would never think there's beauty in these stones and minerals. And these are just a few pieces. I bet if I could have taken some proper photos, you would have seen more beauty.
$PIZZA slices delivered:
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I hope you can still pursue it sooner or later once ready. I remember a gold collector vlogger claimed investing in jewelry appreciates over time, so I'm also planning to invest in those materials. Maybe it was expensive yet to follow, but I knew it would be profitable in the long term!
It's admirable to hear about your passion for museums and exhibitions. I hope that I can also witness those types of gems in reality since I only see them in pictures, and my Science teacher didn't elaborate much about them, and the minerals that I see in the textbooks are only black and white😂
I don't think it's going to happen as there are other things that I'm interested in, that give me a lot of freedom, while with a jewellery business, freedom is the first thing you have to give up.
Well, precious metals and stones are known as good store of value, but with crypto, there are other opportunities as well. Obviously crypto is a more riskier business, but it's an option.
Wuuut? WTF!!! It's 2023, color printing is a thing for ages!!! 😂 Good thing you can Google everything these days, but the real thing is to see them in real life.
Color printing is accessible, but our textbooks are often in black and white to minimize the school's expenses.
You sure did a lot of work to put this together. That actually says something about you and rocks having a connection. The rocks sure look fascinating anyways, and very beautiful too.
Yes, one could read all this stuff about rocks on the internet and all, but the experience of actually seeing them in their actual beauty is incomparable; incomparable as the experience is immersive.
The stibnite looking like a hedgehog is very cool. It's hard to pick a favourite, actually. I love how you took time to get these nice photographs.
Well, there's a lot of work with every post, especially if it involves photos and some knowledge. I'm not sure if there's a connection between me and these minerals, but I'm starting to like them.
We agree on that as a printed photo can give you back the beauty of a stone or a mineral.
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Seeing these numbers, it's quite a lot actually. Thanks arcange.
@erikah indeed the numbers are impressive! Keep up the great work, and we're sure you'll reach your next milestone in no time. Happy buzzing! 😄
@erikah Great post! Keep it up! 💯
Thank you!
That sounds and seem like a really interesting museum. I'm not really into natural gas, but I love learning about new things. I'm glad you had a great time!
Amazing looking displays. I would imagine with your eye, you could desiign some cool looking jewelry. I too like a good little museum. They are always filled with fun facts you would never learn on your own most of the time. Even with all our online resources, nothing beats a good walk through at one.