Educational Opportunities

Museums are valued for their immersive and consolidated approach to education. Whether a child learns by touch, by sight, or by sound, a well-designed place is sure to spark curiosity. The Museum’s display floors and 22 exhibits have been designed to inspire and maximize the visitor’s experience. But planting the seed isn’t enough. We’re here to help it grow.

The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum delivers an immersive, well-rounded, and active educational component. The Museum aims to continually design programs to meets the standardized curriculum requirements ranging from early earth sciences up through the levels of higher education.  Mineralogy surrounds us. In this field of study, nature is the classroom.

Lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on classes are part of our outreach to educators and the community and are an important part of this one-of-a-kind museum.

The Research Facility

The Maine Mineral & Gem Museum is of special interest for students pursuing advanced study in mineralogy.

The MP2 Research Group at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum ( MP2 stands for Mineralogy, Petrology, and Pegmatology, three major areas of geological study) consists of three members, formerly of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New Orleans: Dr. Skip Simmons, Research Professor and Professor of Mineralogy, Alexander U. Falster, research technologist, and Dr. Karen L. Webber, petrologist. The team has several decades of experience among them, and well over 400 peer-reviewed publications on mineralogical and geological topics. This mineralogical research program specifically focuses on exploring the pegmatites of Maine and their associated minerals.

The MMGM MP2 Research Laboratory houses an electron microprobe, a scanning electron microscope, an X-ray diffractometer, a direct couple plasma spectrometer, polarized light microscopes, and various additional research instruments, providing the foundation for active mineralogical research, and opportunities for scientific investigation.

Internship programs for students seeking advanced degrees are available. The program offers housing in the immediate area, access to the research laboratory, and unlimited exploration in the Maine countryside.

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