Idaho Museum of Mining & Geology

Hard to find even with maps. I had to call as I wandered the department of agriculture parking lot. Very extensive collection with a lot of great information and exhibits. Two volunteers, I hoped for more discussion and engagement but they were caught up in a conversation. The black light exhibit and microscope exhibit were my favorites.

Good thing they had free admission because I would have been upset to pay to in which we were in there for about 20 min. It was pretty boring and not up to date at all. The staff just sat in the corner reading a book. Probably would never come here again

Rock out with real rocks! This place is replete with info and exhibits on the history of Idaho. I enjoyed my visit and I hope you do too. Lots of info and real nice people around here!

I’m really into the fact that Idaho was once the coast of the North American continent. So I often ponder what things were once like under my feet. Also the rocks are so exposed out West compared to where I grew up in the Southeast where the vegetative biomass grows so fast you can see it under a microscope. So it goes without question that a source of information about Idaho’s rock situation is a most welcome edutainment opportunity.
The Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology is just that. You can learn about rocks and the history of the people that strove to take them away and turn them into toasters and nuclear weapons. They don’t have a ton of info on fossils, but just enough to wet your appetite. Idaho has a shale deposit similar to the Burgess Shale in Canada with lots of Cambrian explosion critters. Practically science fiction.
One of the main exhibits is a huge wall of plastic topographic relief maps of the Northwest, stitched together. Nothing gives you a perspective like this expect maybe being in a spaceship. Google Earth doesn’t hold a candle.
There is a fluorescent rock display which is pretty cool because it shows you how minerals glow under black lights.
The mining history of Idaho is significant and the exhibits do a pretty good job of documenting the culture and technology.
It’s only open in the summer so be sure to check the date and time before you go. If you get skunked, you can always check out the Old Penitentiary where this museum is housed. The Old Pen is one freaky deal, let me tell you. I saw a group rehearsing for a Passion lay there one spring and the Roman dudes were getting a little too into it. Prisons do something to people.