Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals, Natural history museum in Washington County, United States
Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals is a natural history museum in Washington County that houses more than 20,000 geological specimens. The collection includes crystals, fossils, meteorites, petrified wood, and other minerals displayed throughout rooms organized by type and geographic source.
The museum began in 1938 when Richard and Helen Rice started collecting agates they found on the Oregon Coast. Their growing passion led them to build a display home in 1952 that eventually became a public museum.
The collection grew from a personal hobby into a place where visitors encounter stones and fossils displayed throughout rooms arranged by mineral type and origin. Walking through, you notice how each section tells a story about where these materials come from and what makes them special.
The museum is housed in an accessible building and easy to navigate, with rooms organized by mineral type. It helps to allow time for reading the informational displays to get the most from the detailed descriptions that accompany each section.
The Rainbow Gallery showcases minerals that glow in darkness, creating a magical effect when the lights are dimmed. This section is particularly striking because the phosphorescent and fluorescent qualities of these stones remain hidden in normal light.
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