Exhibits

Coming Soon! The Big Find: A Legend Continues. 12 Jewelry Masterpieces made with world class tourmaline from Plumbago Mountain, Newry, Maine. Exhibited on the West Coast for the first time at the Rice Museum! 50 years ago, 4 miners unearthed over a ton of gem quality tourmaline crystals near the top of Plumbago Mountain, Maine– the most amazing single discovery of tourmaline of this caliber in North America. This was the find that changed everything. In 2022 the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum sought jewelry designers from across the country. These 12 designers, selected by jury, were each matched with one of the 12 stones from this historic find and asked to work their magic. The results are astounding. Plan a visit to see something you’ve never seen before. Exhibit opens March 12 and closes September 4th 2023. Thank you to the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum for lending us this exhibit. Artists whose work will be on display: Paula Crevoshay, Patty Dunning, Matt Fischer, Gerardo Gonzalez, Derek Katzenbach, Andy Lucas, Steve Manchini, Nick Noyes, Naomi Sama, Eric Stewart, Matt and Lauren Tuggle, and Stephen and Tamberlaine Zeh.

Columbia command module pilot Michael Collins inside the craft. Credit: Photo courtesy of NASA The Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals presents Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission. The poster exhibition from the Smithsonian celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and explores the birth and development of the American space program and the space race.   On July 24, 1969, Apollo 11 met President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge of “landing  a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” The poster exhibition explores what led the United States to accept this challenge and how the resulting 953,054-mile voyage to the moon and back was accomplished just eight years after the program was authorized. Destination Moon examines the mission and recognizes some of the more than 400,000  people employed in NASA programs who worked through the trials, tragedies and triumphs of the 20 missions from 1961 to 1969 before Apollo 11.   Fifty years later, the Apollo program remains the benchmark for great national achievement. When Apollo 11 landed on the moon and humans first set foot on another celestial body, it gave humanity a new perspective from which to view the world. Using this  poster exhibition, viewers will be able to look back at this historic mission, and hopefully  envision the next generation of innovators, scientists, explorers and astronauts.   Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission is made possible by the support of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, Joe Clark, Bruce R. McCaw Family Foundation, the Charles and Lisa Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences, John and Susann Norton, and Gregory D. and Jennifer Walston  Johnson.  EDUCATOR GUIDE

Throughout American history, women with diverse backgrounds and interests created inventions that changed lives every day. But women haven’t always had equal opportunities to be inventors or received as much recognition. The Smithsonian and the United States Patent and Trademark Office present Picturing Women Inventors, a poster exhibition that explores the inventions of 19 highly accomplished American women. Astronauts, computer pioneers, and businesswomen join athletes, engineers, and even teenagers in this remarkable group of inventors. The posters will be on view at the Rice Museum when it reopens to the public on Saturday, May 1, and throughout summer 2021. Picturing Women Inventors showcases the breakthroughs, motivations, and challenges women encountered while pursuing their goals as inventors. The poster exhibition highlights stories of inventors like Marilyn Hamilton, who after a hang-gliding accident in 1978 left her paralyzed, invented a lightweight wheelchair that was easy to maneuver. Diversity of background and age are showcased including inventor Alexis Lewis, who at 12-years-old in 2011 was inspired to adapt a traditional Native American sled, called a travois, by adding wheels to create a simpler way to transport families and their belongings in Somalia. Picturing Women Inventors is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, in collaboration with the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and is sponsored by Lyda Hill Philanthropies IF/THEN Initiative and Ericsson.