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Mission20

Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals

Tour the Rice rock museum in Hillsboro. Each pick the crystal you'd keep if you could.

Explore the crystals, meteorites, fossils and the glowing fluorescent mineral room. First, race to find the biggest thunderegg in the building. Then each pick the one specimen you'd take home if you were allowed, photograph it, and make your case. Afterward, walk the free nature trails on the grounds.

  • Date or adventure
  • 1-3 hours
  • Easy
  • $20-60
  • Indoors
  • Daytime

Good with friends, family, and kids

Check before you go: opening hours and tickets

Ask about discounts: seniors, military and veterans, first responders, teachers and educators, and students

Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals, Hillsboro26385 NW Groveland Dr, Hillsboro, OR 97124
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Kids' version

Rock hunt! Find each treasure.

  1. A sparkly crystal
  2. A rock from space
  3. A rock that glows
  4. Your favorite rock!

Checked November 2026

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About this place

Richard and Helen Rice started collecting rocks in 1938 and built this ranch-style house north of Hillsboro in 1952 to show them off. It was the first ranch-style home in Oregon added to the National Register of Historic Places, and it opened as a nonprofit museum in 1997.

With more than 20,000 specimens, it's the largest museum of its kind in the Pacific Northwest and a Smithsonian Affiliate. Highlights include the Alma Rose, a big red rhodochrosite crystal; the world's largest known opal-filled thunderegg, which weighs well over a ton; and a meteorite from Namibia. The museum is closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Also in: Rainy Day Date Ideas · Kid-Friendly Adventures

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