Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum

The florescent rock display that kids loved at the Mining and Mineral Museum.

The Mineral and Mining Museum helped educate students about how minerals are used in our daily lives and which products we use contain minerals found here in Arizona.

The Mineral and Mining Museum moved from the state fairgrounds to the Polly Rosenbaum building in 1991 but Governor Brewer closed it in April of 2011 and now the building sits empty.

Visitors to the Arizona Mineral and Mining Museum learned how prospectors pan for gold—an important part of the history of our state.

The Mining and Mineral Museum had several interactive exhibits that taught students about our state’s history and the important role mining plays in Arizona.

The students who came through the museum on field trips were permitted to go to the wheelbarrow to choose some rock samples they could take home.

Teachers who brought their classes to the museum were provided with kits to take back to their classrooms so they could continue instructing students about the geology of Arizona.

Students who visited the Mineral and Mining Museum were sent on a treasure hunt to help them learn about rocks and minerals.

Doug Duffy worked at the Mining and Mineral Museum for 23 years operating the lapidary shop.

Museum visitors flocked to see the Thanksgiving meal exhibit with a rock specimen that resembled a turkey.

Tens of thousands of Arizona school children came to the Mining and Mineral Museum every year to learn about geology, mining and history.