News

Latest news and announcements from the Rice Northwest Rock and Mineral Museum.

Volcano Day 2024!

Join us on Saturday, May 18, 2024 from 10am-2pm. Fun and educational for all ages. Indoors and outdoors. In our Northwest Gallery explore exhibits of Mt. Saint Helens Memorabilia and memories, and share your story with us. Don’t miss a fun and interactive activity on effusive vs. explosive volcanoes! Or Blair Stuhlmuller’s talk on World Ending Eruptions! When it comes to past mass extinctions, the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs gets all the glory and fame, but more often than not, volcanoes have played the leading role in causing life on this planet to nearly disappear. Three of the five mass extinctions in our Earth’s history–the End Permian Extinction, the End Triassic and, yes, even the Cretaceous Extinction–have been caused by massive volcanic eruptions. Come find out how volcanoes managed to wreak havoc on the Earth’s climate, continents and oceans and wipe out 75% or more of life…three separate times! Geologist and artist Ethan Schmunk will draw your favorite dinosaur or prehistoric critter! You can choose from a list, or make a request. And, of course, watch the eruption of our TRASHCANO!

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Free Guided Tour

Our free guided tours are back from May through November 2024!  Embark with us on a journey into the fascinating world of rocks and minerals!  This well-curated tour is designed to provide a fun and educational introduction to the world of rocks and minerals and the Rice Museum. Walking through our galleries you’ll admire the stunning beauty of nature’s artwork while learning about the geological processes that create them. In addition, you’ll hear about the couple that spent a lifetime collecting these wonders, and then turned their collection and home into a museum. Afterwards enjoy the displays at your own pace, have a picnic outside,  or walk one of our nature trails. It’s the perfect tour for science enthusiasts, rockhounds, or anyone who has driven past us on highway 26 and wondered what that mid-century modern home was in the middle of the farmland!  Advanced registration is required. This is a mixed group (families) tour with up to 20 attendees. Recommended for first grade and older. Please make sure to register all people in your party, including children.  Thank you to our generous donors who made offering this program possible!  People who wished to be recognized by name: Julie and Dave SorensonErica PatinoRoss McKnightLorraine W VagnerJessica BakerHarriet OttavianoJanet and Stephen TolopkaRussell WilliamsLola “Rusty” Etzwiler

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World Record for Largest Cut Tanzanite Set at Museum

Do you know the name of the spectacular violet-blue gemstone that is found in only one place in the world?  Answer: Tanzanite Tanzanite was discovered in the northern region of Tanzania in 1967, by a Maasai Tribesman, who stumbled upon it by accident. It wasn’t long before miners moved in and began unearthing the gem, but it was renowned retailer Tiffany & Co., that made it famous. In 1968, realizing the market potential for this new gem, Tiffany & Co. made arrangements to be the main distributor of tanzanite. The retailer launched tanzanite with a huge marketing and publicity blitz that made it an immediate sensation. One of tanzanite’s most interesting attributes is that it is pleochroic, which means that when you hold a tanzanite and move it around, you see three colors  — blue, purple and yellow, or brown.The stones are generally cut to bring out either the blue or purple tones of the gem, which are often heated to remove the yellow and brown hues. Tanzanite crystal. Several years ago, gemstone carver Naomi Sarna visited the tanzanite mines in Tanzania to select a piece of rough to carve for an international competition. At the time the Tanzanian government did not allow tanzanite larger than one gram to be exported. In fact, to get a large enough piece of rough tanzanite, Sarna had to start carving at the mine, working with a flashlight, in a rubble strewn room, finishing it when she returned to her studio. The result was L’Heure Bleu sculpture, which won a First-Place Spectrum Award for carving from the American Gem Trade Association Partially carved L’Heure Bleu tanzanite. L’Heure Bleu tanzanite being weighed. Photo by Shawn Linehan. On Saturday, March 9, 2024 a Guinness World Records™ was set at the Museum by L’Heure Bleu. It was verified as the world’s largest cut tanzanite – at 703.4 carats – by two independent witnesses and a Guinness adjudicator. The expert witnesses, Jessie English of J.S. English Appraisals and Madeline Sanders of Oregon Estate Jewelry, weighed L’Heure Bleu on two separate scales. They then examined the tanzanite and performed tests to make sure it was not another material, such as glass. After these tasks were completed, the Guinness adjudicator verified and announced the results to the crowd that was present for the event.  Expert witness Jessie English examining L’Heure Bleu tanzanite. Photo by Shawn Linehan. Naomi Sarna presented with Guinness World Records Achievement for Largest Cut Tanzanite by Guinness Adjudicator. Photo by Shawn Linehan. Touched by the community and the poverty she witnessed while teaching the Maasai women how to make jewelry from tanzanite, Sarna announced that profits from the sale of the L’Heure Bleu carving would go to the Maasai to provide eye care for the community through the world recognized Casey Eye Institute of Portland, Oregon. 

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FREE Guided Tour Program Returns

The Museum is offering free guided group tours (guided experiences) from May through November 2023 thanks to a grant from the Juan Young Trust. These limited capacity group tours hit all of the same Next Generation Science Standards as the Museum’s typical school tour program and are lead by the same enthusiastic group of educators. Tours include outdoor activities (weather permitting).  Priority booking is given to families who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19. This program is part of the Rice Museum’s commitment to make earth science education more accessible to the residents of the communities the museum serves. The Rice Museum has been bringing informal earth science experiences to the Portland metropolitan area and the surrounding region since 1997.  The Museum is actively seeking funding to expand the free tour program. Donate now to help make this a reality.  Advanced registration is required. These are mixed group (families) tours of up to 25 attendees per program. BOOK YOUR TOUR TODAY

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Coming Soon! The Big Find: A Legend Continues

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.

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EXPLORING THE RICE NORTHWEST MUSEUM

By Hannah Brodhagen   While on a rockhounding trip to southern Oregon and northern Nevada this past summer, my family and I took a side trip to visit the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals in Hillsboro, Oregon. The Rice Museum was founded by Richard and Helen Rice in 1997. Richard and Helen began collecting rocks in 1938 while on a trip to the coast of Oregon where they found jaspers and agates that they thought were pretty. After that, they joined rock clubs where they could go on field trips to find petrified wood, thundereggs, agates and other pretty rocks. Though at first Richard and Helen only had a collection of lapidary specimens, they later added mineral specimens, too. When they were in their 80s, the decision was made to turn their house into a museum and donate their specimens.   We were very fortunate to have Sharleen Rice Harvey, one of Richard and Helen’s daughters, give us a tour of her parents’ museum, which holds over 20,000 specimens. On the upper level, there is the hall display, featuring some minerals and information about them, as well as about Richard and Helen Rice. There is also the Rainbow Gallery, a dark room with amazing fluorescent minerals, shown in longwave, shortwave, and natural lighting. The Fossil Gallery holds dinosaur eggs, a fossilized baby Psittacosaurus, and many more neat fossils. The Special Exhibitions on the upper level include over 50 native silver specimens from the collections of Gene Meieran, Jim and Gail Spann, and the Rice Museum. There are wire silver specimens, crystallized silver, and other silver-bearing minerals. I was very interested in this room because I think the silvers of Kongsberg, Norway and Saxony, Germany are really intriguing.     The lower level hosts Dennis and Mary Murphy’s Petrified Wood Gallery, containing over 460 petrified wood specimens. Among the nation’s best collection of petrified wood, this is truly an amazing gallery. It was so neat to see how each tree species had actually been identified and represented trees from around the world. I was also impressed by the large variety of colors of the petrified woods, including blues and greens which were quite different from the reds and yellows I am used to seeing in Arizona.   Also, on the lower level is the Main Gallery, which hosts over 4,000 specimens. Among diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, sits the famous Alma Rose rhodochrosite from the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado. One of my favorite specimens of rhodochrosite, it is really beautiful and a must-see in person. Gold, copper, and more rare and unique minerals can be seen in that gallery, too, including a nice collection of azurites from Morenci, Arizona.   The Northwest Gallery is a separate building that used to be Richard Rice’s workshop.  It features a thunderegg collection, the Tschernich zeolite collection, and many sunstones. I was surprised to see what good quality and variety of zeolites are found in the Pacific Northwest; I would like to return some day and do some collecting of these specimens. We finished our tour in about four hours, and I would not hesitate to go back. The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals is truly a remarkable place.     ABOUT HANNAH I’m a junior member of the Mineralogical Society of Arizona, and I’ve been collecting minerals for 5 years since I was 8 ½. My favorite mineral is rhodochrosite. I also love Arizona minerals and minerals from Germany, where my mom was born. I am thrilled when I can self-collect minerals, and my family and I have dug at over 30 mines/localities in 6 different states so far. I also enjoy collecting gemstones, especially rare ones that match my mineral specimens, and I’m currently learning to facet gems. I entered competitive mineral exhibits at the 2022 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and the 2022 Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies Show and received the best Junior trophy in both competitions. I love reading mineral publications. I am fascinated by mineral carvings and mineral photography. I hope to study gemology, mineralogy, geology, or mining engineering…I haven’t decided which, as I’d like to do them all! My other hobbies are riding/showing Arabian horses, Junior Olympic archery, and designing hummingbird gardens.

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Kimberly Vagner appointed as new Executive Director

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Kimberly Vagner as the museum’s new Executive Director. With a strong knowledge of gems and minerals, and a background in museum operations and management, Kim is charged with creating a plan for the museum that includes updating content and galleries, expanding outreach to the Hillsboro community, and aligning with STEM education initiatives. Kim comes to us from the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas, where she served as the Director of the Gems and Minerals Center of Excellence. Prior to this role, she also worked for the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), and credits her start in the profession with volunteering in the mineral sciences department of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. She has a Masters Degree in Decorative Arts & Design from Parsons School of Design, and has a Graduate Gemologist diploma from GIA. Having grown up in Bellevue, Washington she is thrilled to back home in the Pacific Northwest. Welcome Kim!

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Woodland Management

The Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals is looking for 2-5 regular volunteers to help maintain our grounds and trail system. Help to keep the museum grounds clean, safe, and inviting for visitors. Tasks would include regularly walking the trails, trimming blackberry and grasses as needed, and other tasks to keep the museum trails clean, safe, and inviting for visitors. Would you like to walk the grounds weekly or monthly to keep them accessible for visitors? Then connect with us by filling out the Volunteer Interest Form. VOLUNTEER INTEREST FORM

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Special Kids Tour (June 5)

REGISTER NOW Join us on Sunday, June 5 at 10: 30 for a FREE guided tour and reading from local children’s author and illustrator Audrey Sauble. Audrey will be reading from her book, Can a Rock Grow. This nonfiction book explores different rock shapes while explaining how rocks change over time.  After the reading, museum staff will guide you through the Museum.  This program is part of the Rice Museum’s commitment to making earth science education more accessible to the residents of the communities the Museum serves. Advanced registration is required. This is a mixed group (families) tour of up to 25 attendees per program.

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Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals
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