Quartz Museum, Portugal

Unique in the world the Quartz Museum opened in Portugal on April 2012.

The Quartz Museum is located at a former quartz's exploitation, Monte de Santa Luzia in Viseu, center north of Portugal, Santa Luzia Quarry







The exploratory space was conceptualized, managed and developed for the educational environment in accordance with script content developed by a renowned Portuguese Geologist.

The exhibit consists of six distinct stages: Quartz in Monte de Santa Luzia, the Earth as a Source of Quartz, the Kingdom of Quartz, the ‘Properties of Minerals’ Lab, a Showcase of Quartz samples, and Practical Applications for Quartz. The permanent museum project required a marriage of complex educational content and immersive interactive technologies that have resulted in a compelling and smoothly operational experience for visitors of all ages.

Visitors are able to explore Quartz and Cristals universe by several types of interaction. By pointing with a wii control and selecting the hot spots displayed on a map interface wall projection of Portugal, visitors are able to discover the Portugal's landscapes, types and characteristics through high quality images and detailed datasheet info.

















Touchscreen applications and games with richly rendered graphics, animation and footage of subject-matters, quartz formation, rocks physical exhibition and an accurate quartz inspired, faceted interior design, allow visitors to dive into the cristal's world.

In order to understand the molecular structure, visitors can interact with a zoom tool to explore their complexity. This is captured by a distance sensor placed inside the furniture. Another immersive interactive installation of a large-scale projection, reveals the usage of quartz through time, since prehistory until now, visitors discover this content by stepping on displayed floor graphics.

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