The Franklin Mineral Museum has a wide range of geological, mineralogical, archaeological, and historical themes to offer its visitors. Here's how to find us.

	A bronze statue designed by sculptor Carrie Boone Nelson greets museum visitors on the front lawn of the Franklin Mineral Museum.

We have over 4,000 mineral specimens on systematic display in the local room including those that are on display in the 33 foot long fluorescent display in the fluorescent room.  The museum's fluorescent display has a dazzling array of the world's most brilliant and colorful fluorescent minerals.

The museum also has a life size mine replica that shows the visitor examples of mining methods used in the Franklin mines. The mine replica is testament to the pride and dedication of the Franklin community to preserve the memory of their heritage.

Thanks to a bequest from the late David B. Jensen, former mineralogist from Ward's Natural Sciences, The Jensen Annex was constructed. The Jensen Annex houses three different segments of the Wilfred R. and Mary Welsh collections. The Indian room has a collection of native American stone tools and cultural artifacts.  Next to the Indian room is the fossil room that, including many varieties of plant, marine and wildlife fossils. It is also home to one of the nicest petrified wood displays with cut and polished slabs nearly four feet in diameter! "Welsh Hall," largest of the three rooms in the Jensen Annex, houses a systematic collection of world-wide minerals, the largest, most comprehensive mineral collection on public display in the world! The Welsh collections comprise a total of 6,307 specimens and artifacts, over 5,000 are minerals.  The museum also has a lecture hall, "Kraissl Hall," constructed from monies donated by the late Fred and Alice Kraissl. 

Kraissl Hall was completed and dedicated in their honor in 1975.  Kraissl Hall doubles as a classroom and lunchroom and has 112 linear feet of display cases housing an Ultra Violet light history display, a FOMS field trip display and two revolving displays.  There are more revolving displays in the museum: one in the passageway to the mine replica (for private collectors), two institutional displays in the local room, Harvard University and Rutgers University, and a (private collector) display of world-wide minerals in Welsh Hall. Guided tours of the museum are available.

In addition to guided tours of the museum, visitors may collect on any one of the museum's three collecting areas. The two top dumps, one local and one world-wide are handicap accessible. Though relatively small in area, they are frequently replenished. The Buckwheat Dump is a 3.5 acre mine dump that has gained world fame over the years. Interesting and new minerals are still being discovered there. In the last two years three new mineral species to the deposit have been discovered there and other unknowns are presently under study. The museum also offers mineral identification and has facilities to perform optical studies.

Behind the museum is a picnic area with picnic tables and shade trees. There are dark room facilities available for testing rocks for fluorescence, one behind the museum and one in the Buckwheat Dump. 

If you feel like taking home a souvenir, or pretty mineral to remember your visit with us, you may want to visit our gift shop. We have in stock hundreds of different types of gift ideas from jewelry to fluorescent lights. We have a wide variety of fluorescent and world-wide minerals to choose from. Visit our Gift Shop page.