California State Mining & Mineral Museum

If you're interested in the history of mineral's & mining then this is the place! Boasting California's official mineral collection containing over 13,000 objects from California and around the world. While taking a tour you will find many gems, mineral specimens, crystalline gold, mining artifacts and a mine tunnel you may walk through.This collection has been in Mariposa since 1983. Prior to that, San Francisco was its home for over 100 years.We spent most of the morning & afternoon exploring this spectacular place. Very informative about each specimen and the history surrounding it. The two rangers hosting this site are full of information and colorful stories. A must see!My only caveat is they don't allow anyone to take photographs inside for security reasons. I sure would have loved a close up picture or two...No worries, I still had fun.https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=588

They now have a Minecraft Scavenger hunt to compare minerals in Minecraft to reality! Excellent stuff.

4$ entrance fee. This museum was very informative and interesting if your interested in science (earth science) or California history. This museum is different from other museums in the foothills because it's focus is on minerals/rocks. They also have a 13.5 pound piece of gold. Both large and small samples. The mining tunnel was also cool. 45-60 min it took us to read and see everything in this small museum.

Need better hours and may and higher more people to work those days but most of all good location I need a bigger sign for people to find them

A great little museum with fantastic mineral displays. The building also has lifelike displays of underground scenes. A great place to learn some mining history.

This was such an amazing place, definitely a must visit place. So many rocks, minerals, and jewels to see. Friendly and informative guides. Our children loved it. So glad we stopped by.

Absolutely a hidden gem. I was surprised by the quantity and quality of exhibits here, especially in the minerals portion of the museum. There are specimens here that are better than ones I've seen at the LA Natural History Museum. The mining portion of the museum was interesting too, even though I'm not especially into that kind of stuff. There's a beautiful model of a mining operation that's about 5 feet tall. The other item I especially liked was a map of a couple of mines made by layers of glass so that it actually had some depth. Last, the gift shop was impressive too (they have a handful of nice fossils available for purchase even).All in all, this place is absolutely worth the stop and the $4 to get in.

My kids loved it!! The staff was friendly and we enjoyed his vibe. We would definitely make a quick stop to see again

Pros: Large collection of minerals. Exhibit on miners, but information is minimal. Replica of a shaft. Located on a fairground, which offers camping. Cons: N/A

We stopped there yesterday and it was fantastic and had good air conditioning at 101 degrees outside. The exhibited gems and minerals were outstanding! The gold country exhibit was fantastic as it showed the enormous wealth of California in the day and it has much to brag about. I esp. liked the huge gold nugget on display and the mining shaft underground walk. The folks that worked there were super knowledgable and I joined the Gem & Mineral Club! It was only $5 as well. Cant be beatFurther, IGNORE the rude previous comments as I just want to add that this outstanding little museum has been robbed several times, most recently the tools that were used to weight gold. A few years thrives stole ALL the gold on display but missed the big nugget as it was in a safe. They also have an outstanding children's program and are very generous to the community... Scumbag lowlifes steal