Rice Museum

Dear Friends,  First and foremost, the entire staff of the Rice Museum, and I hope that you, your family, and your friends safe and healthy. Nine weeks ago, we shut our doors to the public. I personally never thought that I would be writing a letter in the middle of a world crisis. Yet, here we are.  As we prepare to once again welcome you again we need your help to make sure that happens.  Your support of the Rice Museum is critical. As a non-profit organization, we rely on ticket sales, education program fees, gift shop sales, events like Thunder Egg Stravaganza, and donations to survive. With our museum closed almost all sources of income have stopped until we can again function at full capacity. We urgently need financial support. Since closing our doors on March 15 nearly $175,000 has been lost in revenue so far. That is 34% of our total budget. Priding ourselves on fiscal responsibility we have taken measures to mitigate the loss of income and put the organization in the best position to be able to re-open when it’s safe to do so. Some of these measures have been heartbreaking as we cut expenses. Sadly, there are no guarantees it will be enough without support from people like you in our community. The American Alliance of Museums estimates that as an industry museums are losing 33 million dollars per day due to closures —  that 30% of museums may never reopen — and those that do will be changed institutions at risk of closing within two years. With your help, we won’t become one of those statistics.  Despite the ongoing crisis, our efforts to inspire people of all ages to learn more about earth science and prove meaningful experiences have not diminished since we have been closed. We created a new education campaign “What on Earth?” where we have collected educational resources and activities for kids and families at home. Included in this initiative are our own video activities and lessons, and highlights of our collection. We continue to add new material as the COVID-19 crisis continues.  The Rice Museum has been a vital resource in our community for decades. The Rice family gifted the Museum to the community with a vision of engaging and inspiring generations about the complexities of our Earth. Built around a world-class collection our educational programs have grown throughout the years and often fill a critical need supporting both public and private education. This current Coronavirus crisis brings to light the need for evolving and relevant science education. We can help by growing our educational programming and broadening our reach through technology, video education, and portable earth science exhibits. For the Museum to survive and thrive in the future, we plan to grow educational offerings, update exhibitions and enhance outside spaces.  We need you — will you help? Together we can continue to make a difference. The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals is an essential part of the cultural and science education experience for our region. We have established a COVID-19 Relief Fund. Your gift will help close the gap and allow us to reopen. With your help, we will return to be a cultural cornerstone and inspire the next generation of earth scientists.  Always grateful,  Garret  If you are able to help the Rice Museum right now, please consider making an online gift today. 

Join us on October 3, 2019 as we present famed gemcutter Scott Sucher, a gemcutter with a unique passion for creating replicas of famous diamonds. He has been given special access to diamonds from the vaults of major museums around the world, most notably the Smithsonian Institution to study the Hope Diamond. Access to these stones allowed Scott to painstakingly study them and take measurements that allow him to create high-fidelity replicas of them in his New Mexico studio.

The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals is pleased to announce famed astronaut Story Musgrave will be speaking on October 26, 2019 regarding the importance of STEM education. The event will be held in the OMSI Planetarium. Musgrave will relate his own inspirational story, from a challenging upbringing to becoming the only person to personally fly on all of NASA’s five shuttle craft. He is best-known as the lead spacewalker to repair the Hubble Telescope. Tickets are on sale now! Visit our event page for more information and to purchase tickets!

If you collected some strange rocks over the summer, bring them in Saturday, August 24 from 10:00 to 2:00 to see if you can stump the experts. We’ll have several geologists, mineralogists, and rockhounds available to identify your finds. Or, if you’ve been wondering what the heck that strange rock is that you think might be a meteorite, now’s the time to get it checked. Remember, all you need is a paid admission to the museum to participate. While you’re here, be sure to check the Spann Exhibit, the Snook Exhibit, and the “Brilliance of Trilliants” exhibit – all three went up since the first Mystery Mineral Day of the year back in February.

Our 16th annual Summer Fest will be at Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals Saturday and Sunday, August 3-4, 2019. The hours are 10 AM – 5 PM. Admission is $6 for everyone ages 5 and up! Geodes and other minerals and rocks for sale at vendor booths. The outdoor festival features a wide variety of rock, mineral, gem, jewelry, and fossil dealers. We will have food for purchase, live music, and plenty of fun family activities. There will be music both days featuring Coin Club Band, food from Hakuna Murata, and ice cream from Scoop Handmade Ice Cream for purchase. Rock clubs from around the region will be offering wonderful educational displays, demonstrations, and activities. Come early and stay the whole day. The entire museum will be open during this event, so you can explore all our displays after browsing vendors’ tents. Bring a picnic lunch or enjoy the refreshments at the museum. It’s a perfect event to spend with friends and family. Bring them all!