BUTTE — Here at the Mineral Museum on the campus of Montan Tech there’s a display that may look like a bunch of rocks in a box, but you hit a switch and, suddenly, it looks like something out of Star Trek. This long-time museum in Butte gives us a fascinating look at the minerals that make up this planet.

“I love rocks and minerals and whatnot and my grandmother mentioned it being here and I’m just like, we have to go,” said Shawnte Erickson, 17, of Stevensville.

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Montana Tech has been collecting mineral specimens since it first opened as the Montana School of Mines in 1901.

“This museum is at least partially responsible for me being a geologist, so little kids coming in here and see all these wonderful specimens, it’s a great opportunity to get them hooked,” said Montana Tech Geologist Kyle Eastman.

Shawnte came to the museum with her family from Stevensville to check out the displays.

“I just think that it’s really cool the way the minerals form, the crystals, how they form it’s just so fascinating to me,” said Erickson.

Many people are fascinated by a new exhibit that uses ultraviolet light to make rocks glow. It starts with the push of the button.

“Ultraviolet light comes in, interacts with the molecular structure of those minerals, and re-emits visible light,” said Eastman.

Students with Tech’s robotics club built the case and the electrical circuit for the glowing rocks display. Museum officials hope it attracts more of the public to take a look at the entire collection.

“This is world class, for sure. There’s numerous specimens in this collection that are the best of the best for the mineral species and the locality that they came from,” said Eastman.

The museum is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.