News & Press

“Community Rocks” event features science, family fun, live demos, and a big thank you from museum staff to supporters.

BETHEL, MAINE — July 19, 2025 — The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum is turning 5, and it’s throwing a science-filled celebration plus a weekend of other special events to mark its milestone anniversary. MMGM will open its doors to the community on Saturday, July 19 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for its birthday party, Community ROCKS: Celebrating 5 Years of Science & Discovery, a free, family-friendly event that highlights the very best of what MMGM has to
offer.

The museum has achieved success in the foothills of rural Maine, despite navigating COVID-19 closures and other operational challenges in its early days. Today, MMGM has welcomed over 75,000 visitors through its doors, attracting tourists and contributing to the local economy. It continues to deliver world-class educational programming and conduct independent research in its state-of-the-art lab.

The daylong anniversary bash will celebrate all of that. Festivities will feature free admission, interactive science activities, local vendors and artisans, live art, face painting and more. Guests can enjoy behind-the-scenes talks with experts and museum staff, gold panning demos and even try their luck at sluicing for tourmaline and other Maine minerals right in the MMGM parking lot — sluice bags will be free this weekend only! Activities are free thanks in part to MMGM’s sponsors: Bethel Rotary, CMP, BAAM, and Poland Spring.

“This event is our big thank you to the community,” said Jessica Siraco, Executive Director of MMGM. “We’ve grown so much in these five years, and none of it would be possible without the support of our visitors, volunteers, members, and neighbors. This celebration acknowledges those who helped get us here while continuing to connect them to the rocks and minerals that shape the world around us.”

Visitors will enjoy a packed schedule of hands-on activities including:

● Gem cutting demos by Robbie Walker
● Micrometeorite talks with Jon Wallace
● Gold panning with the Central Maine Gold Prospectors
● Live specimen sketching by Natalie
● Mica painting, scavenger hunts, and more!
● Burgers and hotdogs can be purchased next door at the Masonic Hall.

MMGM is launching a special membership drive to ensure a vibrant museum for another five years and beyond! New members who sign up before July 31 will be entered to win a custom Muonionalusta meteorite necklace! Sign up ahead of MMGM’s July 19 anniversary party and be one of the first 50 members through the door that day and get a free swag bag featuring branded items, coupons and samples from local businesses and more! Become a member today: mainemineralmuseum.org/membership.

And that’s not all, MMGM is also offering supporters a chance to make their mark for future generations with a special Trustee Membership & Rock Garden Paver Bundle. The deal, starting at $1,500, includes a permanent engraved paver and a one-year Trustee Membership. For more information, email Membership & Development Coordinator Celesse Perkins at cperkins@mainemineralmuseum.org.

MMGM Anniversary Weekend Events:

Thursday, July 17: Movie Night with BAAM at The Gem
MMGM and Bethel Area Arts & Music team up for a special screening of Journey to the Center
of the Earth at The Gem Theater, with a pre-film talk by MMGM’s Al Falster and a hands-on display of real Moon and Mars specimens. Proceeds will benefit MMGM and BAAM.
When: 5:30 p.m.
Where: The Gem, 48 Cross St.
Cost: Pay-what-you-can

Friday, July 18: Make your own Bismuth crystal
Join MMGM Education Outreach Coordinator Deb Johnson for a hands-on science activity
where you’ll create your very own shimmering bismuth crystal to take home. Bismuth crystals
are known for their rainbow hues and stair-step shapes — a result of the way light dances
across their oxidized surface. It’s chemistry, it’s art, and it’s totally mesmerizing and it can be all
yours!
When: 11:00 a.m.
Where: MMGM Discovery Gallery, 99 Main St., Bethel, ME
Cost: Free (museum entry not included)

Saturday, July 19: Community ROCKS! Celebrating 5 Years of Science & Discovery
MMGM’s anniversary bash features free admission all day and a roster of interactive activities, Q&A’s with experts, a vendor fair and tent sale sure to fascinate families, rockhounds and budding scientists alike. Food and drinks will be available
Where: MMGM, 99 Main St., Bethel, ME
When: Saturday, July 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Last entry at 4 p.m.)
Cost: Free

Sunday, July 20: Free Admission Day for Mainers
To cap off its anniversary celebration weekend, MMGM will be offering free museum entry to all
Pine Tree State residents. Don’t forget to bring a photo ID or proof of residency.
When: July 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., last admission at 4 p.m.
Where: MMGM, 99 Main St.
Cost: Free for Mainers

These events are brought to the community in partnership with the Maine Office of Tourism. Find other events and experience more of Maine and the state’s food, culture, and nature at: visitmaine.com.

About the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum:
Nestled in the heart of Bethel, MMGM is home to one of the most significant collections of Maine minerals in the world. A one-of-a-kind destination where geology, history, and science come to life, the museum also boasts the largest display of Moon and Mars rocks on Earth. Through hands-on exhibits, expert storytelling, and cutting-edge science, MMGM inspires curiosity in visitors of all ages. Inviting them to explore the incredible story of our planet — and beyond.

For more information, visit mainemineralmuseum.org or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @mainemineralmuseum.

Frank C Perham passed away on January 31, 2023, at the age of 88. Frank was born and raised in Trap Corner, West Paris, Maine, in the house attached to the “mineral store” – formally known as Perham’s Maine Mineral Store. Frank wore many hats in his lifetime. When asked to describe himself by Karen Webber for the book Frank C. Perham, Adventures in Maine Pegmatite Mining, he said “I’m an undergraduate geologist by training, a miner by avocation, and a garage owner by necessity, right in that order.”

Pegmatite minerals and mining were always a part of Frank’s life. What made his heart go “pitter-patter” were the lithium-rich pegmatites that had the potential to produce tourmaline. Frank said, with respect to mining, he was very lucky to have been in the right place at the right time with the right equipment for some of Maine’s most important pegmatite pocket discoveries as either a miner or observer. The most famous of these discoveries was the series of pockets opened at the Dunton pegmatite, Newry, Maine, from 1972-1974. Frank was the contract miner for Plumbago Mining Corporation, so he had the thrill of drilling into the pockets, including the “Big Pocket” that produced over a ton of gem watermelon tourmaline. In 1977, a new mineral discovered at the Bell Pit and Dunton, Newry Hill, Newry, was named “Perhamite.” It was named for “Frank C. Perham, geologist and pegmatite miner of West Paris, Maine, in honor of his dedicated labors in the recovery of mineral specimens”, by Dunn and Appleman. Ironically, in 2006, Frank discovered the largest perhamites ever found during a mining season at Ski Pike.

Over his lifetime, Frank mined or “observed” other mines at numerous localities where pockets or collectible specimens were found, including the Albany Rose, Bennett, BB#7, Bumpus, Emmons, Harvard, Havey, Hayes, Lord Hill, Mt Apatite, Mt Marie, Mt Mica, Newry, Orchard, Ski Pike, Tamminen, Waisanen, and Whispering Pines. Frank had an amazing memory and could recollect what minerals were found at the various pegmatites and what specimens looked like. As a result, he was invaluable for identifying specimens and localities when MMGM was first organizing its collections. He was the first to admit that precisely when a pocket was opened or a mineral specimen was mined was not always at the tip of his tongue. But, if you showed him a photograph of a pocket or a mine site, he could tell you when it was taken based on the mining equipment or vehicles in the picture! When asked a question, if Frank’s response began with “well, the thing is” you knew you were in for a great story. If there was a “but I digress” it was even better.

When the Maine Pegmatite Workshop was held in Poland, Maine, for the first time in 2002, Frank was a treasured and permanent member of the organizing group. He particularly enjoyed working with students or folks new to pegmatites or collecting and would spend time at the pegmatites we visited, describing the history, previous discoveries, or current work. One of the annual events held at the Workshop was the Ugly Shirt Contest. Participants had to put together crazy costumes with great prizes as a reward. Frank always had a creative costume, acted as MC, and brought trash bags full of costumes and accessories “gifted” to him from previous participants for others to borrow.

Frank was a gifted storyteller. He would say “sit back and I’m going to take you on a little journey with me ” as he recounted mining adventures and discoveries. He had a photographic memory when it came to pockets and what was in them. One of his annual talks at the Maine Pegmatite Workshop was about the Newry discovery, and he had all of the participants right with him in the Big Pocket as he unearthed the “Jolly Green Giant” for the first time from its bed of cleavelandite.

When asked why he loved mining so much, particularly in a summer when little was found, he would say he mined for the thrill of the hunt, the satisfaction of reading the rocks to determine the best place to drill and blast, and the knowledge that when he opened a pocket for the first time, he was the first person on Earth to look inside and pull out minerals. He said when he opened a pocket and thought, “Oh, that’s JUST a quartz pocket,” that’s when he’d quit mining. He also mined because he loved using his “Yankee Ingenuity” to make equipment work, building roads to “obscure places that no one in their right minds would do,” and enjoying the camaraderie with his mining partners and crew. He maintained he was not a traditional or typical mineral collector. He loved to collect what he called oddities, the specimen that had an unusual morphology or color because they told a different story. Fortunately, Frank’s collection and that from Jane Perham, Perham Mineral Museum Collection, are now permanently housed at MMGM and available for others to enjoy.