Mineral & Lapidary Museum of Henderson Co

Really neat place. I was impressed with the different geodes I saw. They were so beautiful. The fluorescent light exhibit and demonstration was really cool too!The admission is free, and the street parking is free for the first 30 mins, but you have to use your phone to link your tag to the parking zone. I don't want to share too many pictures so I don't spoil it for anyone, but I would recommend coming here if you're in the area. The staff was very kind and helpful. I could sit and stare at some of these pieces for a while. Good thing they don't have seating. JK

Small but very interesting. It is run mostly by volunteers--but they are very knowledgeable. This is a real gem (pun intended) in downtown Hendersonville .

What a neat place and you definitely can't beat the price - FREE! If you are in Hendersonville, NC definitely stop by. Its a great place for kids and adults to spend 30 minutes to an hour, because of the beautiful collection of gems and minerals. Some of my favorites were the Celestite from Madagascar, the Echinodermata Crinoid from Indiana, the fossil bird tracks from Utah, the Chrysanthemum Stone from China, the Mordenite Stalagtites with calcite on quartz and the Malachite and Azurite from Africa. There was even a nice selection of diamonds, and the fluorescent rock exhibit was super cool under high and low wavelength lights. You can even buy whole geodes and they would split them for you on sight. Super fun especially for kids. Also, you could tell the staff is passionate about what they do.

This place is a gem! How has no one made that joke yet?We stopped in on our way to the airport from Asheville. We didn't know anything about it but it was free admission so we figured we'd give it a try. The volunteers that day, the Pezzanos, were a delight. They are clearly excited to share their knowledge and it's infectious. They have some dinosaur eggs you can touch and a ton of other cool stuff that you can't. We bought a geode and had them crack it right there. So much fun and they give you two stands and a list of everything they can identify inside. Stop in!

It's quint but very entertaining and informative. They have glow in the dark gems, minerals, fossil and beautiful rare gems. It's free admission. The staff is great and they have a small gift shop with many interesting stuff.

Great volunteers! We had a lot of fun with the kids looking at rocks and learning about minerals. Splitting the geode was especially fun. If you have 20-30 minutes pop in here!

Not a big museum, but for a small town like Hendersonville it's excellent. They have hundreds of specimens across a wide variety of rocks and minerals, as well as dinosaurs and prehistoric artifacts. The volunteers here are friendly and knowledgeable, and the museum is free - they just ask for a small $1 donation or that you make a purchase in their gift shop.

Very small, but there is plenty to look at. My daughter calls this "the dinosaur museum" because they've got a few dinosaur skulls in the back. Lots of weird gems and interesting info to read. I like that there are a number of items on display that came from the area. The phosphorescent display is pretty cool. It is free to visit, but they appreciate donations. Unless you are really into this sort of thing, I wouldn't say you need to drive super far out of your way to visit. But if you're in the area, stop in. It's a worthy stop when you're in downtown Hendersonville.

WOW WHAT A GREAT PLACE. Unbelievable displays. Cracking a geode was an excellent exciting experience. This is a must see place in Hendersonville nc

Incredible selection of gems, stones, fossils and more! Definitely for older children. My 6 year old enjoyed it but got bored quickly because everything is just in displays for looking.