Library of Earth Anatomy

Library of Earth Anatomy,​ a collection of remarkable geological artifacts that invite and inspire us to see rocks in new ways. Created by Halperin for the Exploratorium’s Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery, the Library employs unconventional classification methods to dissolve the usual boundaries between nature and culture, as well as between animal, vegetable, and mineral.

Premised on the notion that “Earth’s geological record is like a book whose pages have been ripped apart and scattered about,” the Library reveals the unusual richness of Bay Area “geologic literature.” Its rock fragments tell many stories. A series of cards correlated to the rocks guides us in the apprehension that the solidity of rock is an illusion, and that the scale of geologic time is immense.