Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology

06/01/2026

June 14
Dig into Geodes!
10am-1pm
Join us for a fabulous time cracking geodes at the Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology (IMMG), 2455 Old Penitentiary Rd. Boise 83712. Be amazed at the surprise inside.
Admission:
Adult Non-members of the IMMG-$10, Children-$5
Every registered child receives one small geode at no cost!
Adult IMMG Members & their children—Free admission
Best price in town to purchase larger geodes. Optional 40-minute geology hike of nearby hillside overlooking the Old Pen.
Pre-registration is required:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dig-into-geodesjune-14-tickets-1988577063528?aff=oddtdtcreator
This event is supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council.
Contact [email protected] if you have questions.

Crack your own geode and see the magic inside!

05/26/2026

Check out the Museum's events! Admission is free to Members of the Museum all year long. We are the best deal in town. www.idahomuseum.org/membership

If you wish to pick on the go, all events are at www.idahomuseum.org/events .
We hope to see you soon, at the Museum or at an event.

Saturday, June 6
Bruneau Petrified Wood Geologic Field Trip
This geologic field trip will be to a new area of Bruneau Petrified Wood. You can collect petrified wood and other fossils without any digging! We'll be meeting to carpool from the Albertsons Parking Lot (near McDonalds but not at McDonalds) at 6574 S Federal Way and Hwy 21 at 8:15 AM, departing at 8:30 AM. We will spend ~2 hours exploring a new area and picking up petrified wood, having lunch and then return to One-Stop and finally to the meetup location by about 2:30 PM. Sponsored by Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology (IMMG), 2455 Old Penitentiary Rd. Nonmembers of the IMMG $20 plus Eventbrite fee, IMMG Members and Children are free. Pre-registration is required. Full refunds if the IMMG cancels the trip due to the weather.
Pre-registration is required. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bruneau-petrified-wood-geologic-field-trip-tickets-1988432931425?aff=oddtdtcreator
Please contact [email protected] if you have questions.

Sunday, June 14
Dig into Geodes!
10am-1pm
Join us for a fabulous time cracking geodes at the Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology (IMMG), 2455 Old Penitentiary Rd. Boise 83712. Be amazed at the surprise inside.
Admission:
Adult Non-members of the IMMG—$10
Children —$5
Every registered child receives one small geode at no cost!
Adult IMMG Members & their children—Free admission
Best price in town to purchase larger geodes.
Pre-registration is required. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dig-into-geodesjune-14-tickets-1988577063528?aff=oddtdtcreator
The Idaho Humanities Council is helping to support this fundraiser for the IMMG.
Contact [email protected] if you have questions.

Saturday, June 20
All About Helium
Join us for a fascinating lecture on Helium by Dr. Steve Tedesco. The lecture takes place at 1pm at Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology (IMMG), 2455 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise. Helium is critical to modern industry. Without it the present civilization would be technically impossible. Presently helium supplies are being disrupted, causing serious concerns. Dr. Tedesco has over 40 years of experience in the energy industry including coal, helium, nuclear, oil, gas, hydrogen, wind and solar. Members of the IMMG free admission, Nonmembers of the Museum $5. Pre-registration is required at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/all-about-helium-lecture-tickets-1988860171311?aff=oddtdtcreator
Please contact [email protected] with questions.
www.idahomuseum.org

Friday, June 26
Noon-4pm
Dinosaurs in a Mobile Museum coming to the IMMG!
Mark your calendars and register for this FREE event! The Idaho Museum of Natural History is bringing fossils and dino exhibits to the Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology (IMMG) 2455 Old Penitentiary Rd, on June 26. They will park their Mobile Museum across from our front door. Don’t miss learning all about Idaho’s fossils and what roamed the earth millions of years ago! The event has an ASL Interpreter. Much more detail in the link. Registration is encouraged: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dinosaurs-in-a-mobile-museum-coming-to-the-immg-tickets-1987751676774?aff=oddtdtcreator
Please email [email protected] with questions.

Sunday, June 28
Mineral Identification
Need help identifying rocks you’ve found or purchased? Coyote Short, Professional Geologist, can identify rocks, minerals, fossils and Native American artifacts. Bring in your specimens and she will help you identify them. Plus, you’ll learn steps to identifying rocks and minerals. 1pm, Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology, 2455 Old Penitentiary Rd, $5-General, Free for IMMG members and kids. Pre-registration is required. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mineral-identification-class-tickets-1990347087718?aff=oddtdtcreator
Please contact [email protected] if you have questions.

05/19/2026

The Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology held a fun and worthwhile gold panning event on Sunday. An expert also led two Geology hikes on the adjacent hillside. It was cool and breezy but that didn't slow us down.

Special thanks to the Treasure Valley Gold Prospectors for teaching us the details of panning. Our gratitude is also to numerous others, including: the dedicated Museum volunteers who always show up, our neighbor-the Old Pen- who generously support us with space and equipment, and the women from the East Boise Community Center who help with setup and teardown. It's a team project!

Take a peek at some cool photos.
Learn more about the Museum and upcoming events at www.idahomuseum.org.

05/11/2026

The Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology is excited to share we exceeded our Idaho Gives Goal of $5000 and raised $5075. We are overjoyed and thank everyone for their support!

Next up: Panning for Gold on Sunday. Check out all our events here. www.idahomuseum.org/events

Please contact [email protected] if you have questions.

Thank you, and we hope to see you on Sunday!

05/09/2026

Sunday, May 17
Gold Panning for All Ages
Noon-3:00 PM
Join us in panning for gold!
The Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology, 2455 Old Penitentiary Rd, will set up this event in the courtyard of the Women's Prison at the Old Pen in east Boise. This Panning experience is provided by the outstanding Nampa Gold Prospectors. $10 plus Eventbrite fee for Adult nonmembers of the IMMG, $5 Kids, Free for IMMG members and their kids. Everyone must register even if you do not pan for gold. Every registered person takes home a speck of gold.
Every child gets a free mineral inside the Museum.

Pre-registration is required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gold-panning-for-all-ages-1200-300pm-tickets-1985240828760?aff=oddtdtcreator
Please contact [email protected] if you have questions.
www.idahomuseum.org

Hot dogs on sale by Terry Fisher at Updog Hotdogs. Yum!

05/05/2026

Still time to join this amazing field trip on Saturday. Excellent way to spend a beautiful spring day. Read the link for details, please.

Saturday, May 9
Shoofly Oolites-Landscape of Mars
Join Tom Frey for a popular field trip to the Shoofly Oolites, one of the largest outcrops of Oolites in North America—located 70 miles from Boise near Grand View. We will meet at 9:45am near the McDonald's, 6574 S Federal Way (Albertsons Shopping Center) near the intersection of I-84 and Hwy 21 for a 10am departure. Home early afternoon. Please carpool as much as possible. Paved roads the entire way. Sponsored by Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology, 2455 Old Penitentiary Rd. Nonmembers of the museum $20 plus Eventbrite fee, Museum Members and Children are free. Pre-registration is required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shoofly-oolites-landscape-of-mars-tickets-1985848205440?aff=oddtdtcreator
Contact [email protected] with questions.

05/03/2026

Today, Karen Davis provided an engaging hands-on mineral class "Discover the Secret Life of Rocks". Her enthusiasm and knowledge of the rocks, and her ability to engage both children and adults was amazing.

Karen is a member of the Owyhee Gem and Mineral Society of Canyon County and has prepresented to over 2400 people in the past 3 years. Today was a small class which gave folks a chance to handle rocks and ask questions.

Idaho Gives is this week. The Museum has been operated solely by volunteers for 37 years. We will appreciate any donation. Here is a direct link that explains our mission.

https://www.idahogives.org/search?query='idaho+museum+of+mining+and+geology

Thank you very much.

11/24/2025

December 6
Bruneau Fossil Reef Field Trip
Investigate the geology of Fossil Reef and Horse Hill with guide Steve Schaps. This area is 80 miles from Boise and has a lot of fossils, petrified wood, and Moqui Balls. We will meet in the Albertson’s Shopping Center parking lot at 9:45am, for a 10am departure, near McDonald’s Restaurant, 6574 S Federal Way. From here Steve will facilitate carpools. We will need some people with higher clearance vehicles to be carpool drivers. Limited people and cars. Sponsored by Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology, 2455 Old Penitentiary Rd. Nonmembers of the Museum $20, Museum members and Children are free.

Pre-registration required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bruneau-fossil-reef-geologic-field-trip-tickets-1965613034499?aff=oddtdtcreator

Full refunds if the IMMG cancels the trip due to the weather. Read link for details.
Please contact [email protected] if you have questions.

Join Steve Schaps for a geologic field trip to the Fossil Algal Reef and Horse Hill, near Bruneau.