Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals
Featured
Thunder-Egg-Stravaganza 2018!
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This event is SOLD OUT
Museum members contact us for advanced registration.
The egg hunt that “rocks” returns once again! Join us at Rice Museum on Saturday, March 31, 2018. Admission is $6 for everyone ages 5 and up, and includes admission to the museum galleries.
Your mission: locate 4 eggs of different colors around our property and redeem them for prizes. Our prize table includes 2000+ WHOLE thunder eggs and mystery bags of mineral goodies. We’ll have volunteers on site all day to cut your thunder eggs open for FREE so you can be the first to see the surprise inside.
Educational talks on thunder eggs in the Northwest will take place inside the museum at 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, and 3:00 PM. Egg hunting is available all day.
NEW – ADVANCED ONLINE TICKET PURCHASE REQUIRED
Due to the overwhelming popularity of this event, we are requiring pre-purchased tickets to enter the museum grounds for this event. Members are admitted free, but must still reserve tickets. Since members get free admission and early registration opportunities, this is a good time to consider purchasing a membership. Your membership supports our educational programming and comes with great benefits.
NEW – MORNING AND AFTERNOON ADMISSIONS
We are limiting the number of tickets sold and offering two opportunities to attend Thunder-Egg-Stravaganza: a morning and afternoon admission window. If you purchase an AM ticket, you can get in through the front gate any time between 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM. If you purchase a PM ticket, you can get in through the front gate any time between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM. We have plenty of thunder eggs and will not run out. The event will be the same all day long, regardless of whether you show up at 10:00 or 3:30.
This event is sold out!
Mystery Mineral Day- February 24, 2018!
Mystery Mineral Day is happening Saturday, February 24, 2018 from 10 AM to 2 PM at the museum.
A participant at Mystery Mineral Day 2017 had her treasures identified by Bruce.
A panel of experts will be ready and waiting for you to bring your unknown rocks, minerals, fossils, gems, and potential meteorites for identification.
Have you always wondered what to call that cool crystal you picked up on a hike that one day? Did you inherit a collection, but it’s missing some labels? Do you think you may have found a fossil bone or a rock from outer space? Our experts are volunteering at this event just for you, so don’t be shy. Come on by!
This event is included with general admission. Admission is $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for seniors, and $8.00 for students (ages 5-17) and veterans/active military. Children 4 and under are free.
2018 Reciprocal Membership Calendar
Thinking of buying a membership to Rice NW Museum this year? We’re happy to once again offer reciprocal membership with our partners in the Portland Attractions Marketing Alliance! Buy a membership to the Rice NW Museum and you will get admission to eleven other great attractions and museums during the following months:
2018 Reciprocal Membership Calendar:
January: Oregon Zoo
4001 SW Canyon Road
Portland, OR 97221
oregonzoo.org
February: Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
ohs.org
March: Deepwood Museum & Gardens
1116 Mission Street SE
Salem, OR 97302
Parking on 12th & Lee
deepwoodmuseum.org
April: Lan Su Chinese Garden
239 NW Everett Street
Portland, OR 97209
lansugarden.org
May: Architectural Heritage Center
701 SE Grand Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
visitahc.org
June: Columbia River Maritime Museum
1792 Marine Drive
Astoria, OR 97103
crmm.org
July: World Forestry Center
4033 SW Canyon Road
Portland, OR 97221
worldforestry.org
August: Clark County Historical Museum
1511 Main Street
Vancouver, WA 98660
cchmuseum.org
September: Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals
26385 NW Groveland Drive
Hillsboro, OR 97124
ricenorthwestmuseum.org
October: Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
500 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way
McMinnville, OR 97128
evergreenmuseum.org
November: Oregon Coast Aquarium
2820 SE Ferry Slip Road
Newport, OR 97365
aquarium.org
December: Washington County Museum
17677 NW Springville Road
Portland, OR 97229
washingtoncountymuseum.org
Rice NW Museum memberships are valid one calendar year from date of purchase and start at just $50. Visit our membership page or the museum store to join us today!
Members must present a valid membership card from one of the participating organizations to receive free admission. Free admission is valid for up to four individuals, regardless of membership level.
There’s still time to make a difference
The Rice Museum is more than a museum. It’s about making connections.
Bruce, Leslie, and Julian unpack the Alma Rose for the Westward Look Mineral Show in Tucson, AZ
Tens of thousands of visitors come each year to connect with their families and friends, our staff, and the splendors and complexities of our Earth. By building community and a sense of place on the geological time scale, we strive every day to engage, inspire, and educate these generations.
Think back to the best day that you’ve had at the museum. Who did you connect with?
- Volunteers from the Northwest Mineral Prospector’s Club teach children to pan for gold at Summer Festival
In 2017, we broke records. Some were amazing, some were sad. We’ve been thrilled to welcome the most-ever visitors to the museum and to our events. Your support helped us win the most-ever accolades received in the Hillsboro community. However, we’ve also suffered the most damage ever to our historic structures, and we’ve spent more money than ever responding to emergency repairs.
Will you help?
To continue to best serve you and all of our amazing connections, we need to reinforce our infrastructure. Your gift of any amount will allow us to continue to offer you the best museum experience. We need your help to upgrade our parking and internet technology in 2018 to best serve our community. Together we can strengthen our resources so that we can deepen our connection with you and your friends and family here at the Rice Museum.
- Tree Damage repairs to the Northwest Gallery.
Thank you for your support. We look forward to growing stronger together. You can make a tax-deductible donation online right now, by calling us at 503-647-2418, or directly at the museum.
Winter Break Holiday Hours
Rice NW Museum will be open extra hours with extra programs over winter break! Join us Wednesday-Sunday from 10:00 – 5:00, December 20-24 and December 27-31, 2017. We’ll even have extra programs! Join us for our new Museum Moments daily at 11:00 and Guided Tour at daily 2:00. We will return to normal operating hours on January 3, 2018.
Holiday Hours 2017:
Dec 18 – Closed
Dec 19 – Closed
Dec 20 – Open 10-5
Dec 21 – Open 10-5
Dec 22 – Open 10-5
Dec 23 – Open 10-5
Dec 24- Open 10-5
Dec 25 – Closed
Dec 26 – Closed
Dec 27 – Open 10-5
Dec 28 – Open 10-5
Dec 29 – Open 10-5
Dec 30 – Open 10-5
Dec 31 – Open 10-5
Jan 1 – Closed
Jan 2 – Closed
Jan 3 – Open 1-5
Jan 4 – Open 1-5
Jan 5 – Open 1-5
Jan 6 – Open 10-5
Jan 7 – Open 10-5
Thanksgiving Holiday Hours
Rice NW Museum will be open special hours for Thanksgiving Week!
We will also be having extra public tours! If you’re here Friday, Saturday, or Sunday at 2:00, meet your museum host at the Northwest Gallery for a guided tour of the museum.
Hours for Thanksgiving Week:
Monday, 11/20/2017: Closed
Tuesday, 11/21/2017: Closed
Wednesday, 11/22/2017: Open: 1:00 PM- 5:00 PM
Thursday, 11/23/2017: Closed in observance of Thanksgiving
Friday, 11/24/2017: Open: Holiday Hours, 10:00 AM- 5:00 PM
• Hosted Tour 2:00 PM- 3:30 PM
Saturday, 11/25/2017: Open: 10:00 AM- 5:00 PM
• Hosted Tour 2:00 PM- 3:30 PM
Sunday, 11/26/2017: Open: 10:00 AM- 5:00 PM
• Hosted Tour 2:00 PM- 3:30 PM
Veterans and Active Military receive FREE admission for Veteran’s Day
To honor those who have or are serving in our nation’s military, the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks an Minerals will admit all veterans and active military free of charge on Friday, November 10, 2017 and Saturday, November 11, 2017. We thank all the brave men and women who serve our country to preserve the freedoms we enjoy.
The museum will be open to the public regular business hours, which are 1:00 to 5:00 PM on Friday and 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday. Please remember to bring your military ID with you.
Hillsboro Tribune: Hillsboro’s Best 2017
Thank you for voting for the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in the Hillsboro Tribune’s annual Hillsboro’s Best awards. We’re honored to receive the highest awards from readers of the Hillsboro Tribune in SIX categories! Thank you so much for naming the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals:
Gold:
- Best Family Attraction
- Best Place to Take the Kids
- Best Place to Volunteer
- Best Annual Event
(Summer Festival) - Best Holiday Event
(Thunder-Egg-Stravaganza)
Bronze:
- Best Wedding Venue
“The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals walked away with not one, not two, but six awards this year — five of them gold. Readers say they’re the best family attraction in town, hold the best summer and holiday events — their annual summer festival and Thunder Egg-Stravaganza are to die for — and are a great place to volunteer and, yes, even host a wedding.”
Book signing at the museum!
Local author Tonya Macalino will release her latest book at the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals on October 7, 2017 from 2:00-4:00 PM. Executive Director Julian Gray, author Tonya Macalino, and representatives from the Hillsboro Historical Society will present connections to local history and special places in the third book of The Gates of Auròna children’s chapter book series and Tonya will be signing her book.
The Rice Museum features as a major location for the young adventurers in Macalino’s new release The Gates of Auròna: Spinwatch, which is set in Hillsboro, Oregon. Many local personalities appear as character inspirations in the series, including Executive Director Julian Gray and Curator Leslie Moclock. “I had never seen dragons guarding the Alma Rose until Tonya brought them to us,” said Moclock, “It’s wonderful to imagine mythical beasts helping us guard our museum treasures!”
Executive Director Julian Gray, author Tonya Macalino, and Tonya’s three dragons pose with the Alma Rose
The event will take place inside the Master Gallery of the museum, where the greatest treasures of the museum and the magic crystals of the book are located. Admission to the museum is included with purchase of the third book, The Gates of Auròna: Spinwatch. All three books in the series will be available for purchase in the museum store, inside at the event, and online through Amazon.com. Craft projects, prizes, and light refreshments will be available. Preregistration is requested at www.thegatesofauronabook3.eventbrite.com
2017 Northwest Fossil Fest at the Rice Northwest Museum
The Northwest Fossil Fest sponsored by the North America Research Group (NARG) will take place at the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals on Saturday, August 12, 2017, from 10 AM to 5 PM.
The theme for the 12th Annual Northwest Fossil Fest is “Fishing the Past!”
The event is free for families to learn about fossils, fossil collecting, preparation, identification, hands on demonstrations, and educational displays. Dr. Edward Davis, University of Oregon will talk on fossil fish from Oregon, including the sabertooth salmon.
Paleontologists will be on hand identify fossils and to show kids of all ages how to clean and prepare fossils. There will be lots of hands on activities and this is a great event for families and fossil fans. Attendance for the Fossil Fest includes free admission to the museum.
For more information and up-to-the-minute information see Northwest Fossil Fest.
