Mineral Museum re-opens after renovations, recent donation boosts collection by 6,800 specimens, more offerings to come

The Mineral Museum at Montana Technological University is home to many geological wonders. There’s a gigantic 27.496-ounce gold nugget, forearm-sized quartz crystals, large amethyst geodes that sparkle, a mammoth tusk and rhinoceros jaws that have been fossilized, and a whole collection of rocks that phosphoresce under ultraviolet light.

Approximately 5,000 visitors tour the Mineral Museum every year, and renovations recently completed will improve the visitor experience. The museum was closed for five months, from December 1, 2023 until April 25, 2024 to remove old asbestos-containing floors. The original maple hardwood floors underneath were refinished and now shine.

Historic specimen cases were brought down from the museum’s upper level, and are being refit with aluminum fittings improving lighting and security. Taller cases were moved to the periphery of the museum.

“It’s much brighter now,” Director Steve Quane said. “Sight lines are better. We also took cases off the stage and made the stage back into a usable space. We have a new projector and screen up to have presentations.”

The mineral collection at Montana Tech originated in the university’s first year of existence, 1901. At the time, 177 mineral specimens were purchased for teaching at the Montana School of Mines. Today’s collection includes more than 15,000 specimens, with 1,300 on display. Quane recently traveled to Miles City to pick up a donation of 6,800 specimens from Montana geologist Larry French. Most of the new specimens are microminerals.

Reorganization of what’s on display is an ongoing task. The museum is working to bring back one of its most popular past exhibits.

“One of our favorite exhibits was the ultraviolet room,” Quane said. “We will be reconstituting our ultraviolet room in a new space behind the stage. Some rocks get excited by different frequencies of light. There’s longwave radiation and shortwave radiation. Depending on the mineral in the rock, it will be excited, and then when you turn the lights off and turn these lights on, they will show up green or orange or pink, cool different colors. It’s always a favorite.”

The team at the museum is working on a map that can help guide visitors, and a mobile app that will offer an audio tour. In the fall, the Mineral Museum plans to start having events again.

“A lot of great work was done in the past, and we want to continue that,” Quane said.

Most of the museum is located on the first level, and is accessible via elevator. Admission is free. It is open 7 days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from June 15-September 15. The rest of the year, it is open Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, click here. The Mineral Museum posts updates on upcoming events on the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology’s social media pages. Follow them on Facebook here, Instagram here, and LinkedIn here.