MINES CLIMBS TOGETHER: COVID-19 resources, updates

Events & Services

DUE TO MUSEUM CLOSURE, ALL EVENTS, MEETINGS, & TALKS ARE POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

EdTalks: MINERALS WORTH TALKING ABOUT

Join our mining history expert and Collections Manager, Ed Raines, for a fascinating lecture series on the geology and mining history of Colorado.  Watch past lectures on the Museum Facebook page or here: EdTalks Archive

Date to be determined –  in GRL201: Eastern Clear Creek County (Idaho Springs, Freeland, Lamartine, & Chicago Creek)

Date to be determined – in GRL201: Western Clear Creek County Silver (Lawson, Georgetown, Silver Plume, & East Argentine)

DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

We have a sampling of specimens available to browse online through LibGuides including pieces from Creede and Gilman, CO.  Check them out here.

NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

Various authors contribute original articles to our biannual newsletter.  See available articles below:

“Revisiting History: Colorado’s Remarkable Mineral Palace,” by Ken Kucera (May 2020 – .pdf here: Mineral Palace_Kucera_MAY 2020)

 

TEACHING KITS

The museum offers three types of hands-on educational kits which are loaned to the public:

Rock & Mineral Kits

  • Focus on rock cycle and mineral properties
  • Designed for up to thirty 4th through 6th grade students
  • Includes 15 pieces of each sample
  • Mineral specimens include quartz, calcite and pyrite
  • Rocks include granite, sandstone and marble
  • Magnets, hand lenses and dilute hydrochloric acid also included
  • Teacher activity guide book and an educational video

    • Fossil Kits

  • Focus on fossils and geologic history
  • Designed for up to thirty, 6th through 12th grade students
  • Include fossils of teeth, claws, plants and more
  • Teacher guidebook and student worksheets included

    • Teaching Trunks

  • The rock cycle
  • Mineral properties and crystallography
  • Fossils
  • Birthstones and other gemstones
  • Designed for groups of ten or less kindergarten to 2nd grade students
  • One sample per type included
  • Perfect for single day show-and-tell activity

    • KIT RESERVATION GUIDELINES:

    • Can be checked out for 3 weeks at a time
    • Requires refundable $50 cash or check deposit at time of pickup
    • Checks made out to “CSM Geology Museum”
    • We do not accept credit cards for deposits
    • Pickups and drop-offs only allowed during regular business hours
    • Kits cannot be mailed
    • Three ways to make a kit reservation:

                 1) in-person at the Museum
                 2) call 303-273-3815
                 3) email geomuseum@mines.edu with subject: “KIT”

    SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION

    Find something on a hike or rolled up in grandpa’s long underwear? We can help.

    Student Aides are available to identify your unknown specimens during your next visit, free of charge.

    We do not have the resources available to provide identification services for large collections or estates, loose gemstones, or advanced testing of rocks, minerals, or meteorites, however, we would be happy to refer you to industry professionals who can help.  Please email geomuseum@mines.edu so we can assist you. Limit number of items to 5 or less please.

    ***NOTE: we do not conduct appraisals of any kind.