Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals

What Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals does

Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum located on a 23-acre site in Hillsboro, Oregon, approximately 25 minutes from downtown Portland. Founded in 1996 by Richard and Helen Rice, who began collecting rocks in 1938, the museum opened to the public in 1997 and was designated a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2017. It operates a permanent collection of 20,000+ specimens (4,000+ on view) across multiple galleries — including the Main Gallery, the Dennis & Mary Murphy Petrified Wood Gallery, the Northwest Mineral Gallery, the Rainbow Gallery, and the Fossil Gallery — and supplements these with rotating special exhibitions such as the Smithsonian-developed Cellphone: Unseen Connections. The museum is housed in a mid-century ranch-style residence that is itself listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the first such property in Oregon to receive that designation.

The museum monetizes through a diversified mix of revenue streams: walk-in admissions ($10-$18 with tiered discounts for seniors, students, veterans, educators, and Museums-for-All EBT participants at $3), annual memberships ($30-$500 across four tiers), school group tours ($100-$300), outreach programs ($150 per 50-minute session), summer camps ($400/week, ages 6-9), birthday party packages ($300 flat rate plus add-ons), private event hosting (up to 150 guests outdoors, 50 indoors), a museum store on Square e-commerce, and a robust donations/sponsorships program including a $50 Adopt-a-Mineral scheme and tiered corporate sponsorships from $500 (Jasper) to $10,000 (Sunstone). Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer and event-driven, targeting families with children, K-12 educational groups aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, rock and mineral collectors, and general visitors to the Portland region. Community-led outreach — including summer camps with Knowledge Keepers Education, habitat restoration with Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District, and reciprocal membership with 25+ regional attractions — anchors a volunteer ecosystem contributing 1,000+ hours per year.

The technology stack is standard nonprofit SaaS (Acuity Scheduling, Mailchimp, Square, Bloomerang, TruTour virtual tours, Google Analytics, PayPal) with no proprietary systems or disclosed AI capabilities. Governance is by a volunteer board of directors with 100% donor participation, including a retired Intel Senior Fellow, a certified professional geologist, and a Barron's Top 1,000 wealth advisor. The museum operates with a small staff of six and is led by Executive Director Kimberly Vagner, with a recent Board President transition to Jan Morrison in June 2026 and the full-time return of co-founder Sharleen Harvey.

Name

Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals

Legal name

Rice Museum of Rocks and Minerals

Website

https://ricenorthwestmuseum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum in Hillsboro, Oregon, displaying 20,000+ rock, mineral, fossil, and meteorite specimens across permanent and rotating galleries, serving families, K-12 schools, collectors, and Portland-area visitors through admissions, memberships, educational programs, events, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Natural History Museum

NAICS

Museums (71211), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (712110)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAJADAC

Natural History Museums

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Museums, Galleries & Cultural Institutions

SECONDARYTHAJADAD

Science & Technology Museums

Travel & Hospitality/Tours, Attractions & Experiences/Museums, Galleries & Cultural Institutions

SECONDARYBPAGAHAA

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Arts, Culture & Heritage Nonprofits

SECONDARYCRALAJAG

Museum, Zoo & Attraction Gift Shops

Consumer Products & Retail/Specialty Retail (Hobby, Books, Office, Pet, Toys)/Gift, Novelty & Souvenir Retail

Keywords

• Earth science education
• Mineral museum exhibits
• Geology field trips
• Natural history collections
• Fossil gallery displays

Headquarters

HQ city

Hillsboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Admission Fees: Entry fees charged to visitors with tiered pricing for adults ($18), seniors ($15), students ($10), and free admission for children 5 and under and members.
2. Memberships: Annual membership programs (Individual $30, Dual $50, Group $75, Rock Club $500) providing unlimited admission and discounts on gift shop purchases.
3. Birthday Party Rentals: Private room rental with admission for up to 25-30 people at $300 flat rate, plus optional add-ons like gallery tours and geode cracking.
4. Event Venue Rental: Private event hosting for up to 50 people indoors and 150 outdoors, with catering and party rental recommendations.
5. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, planned giving, corporate sponsorships, adopt-a-mineral program ($50), and board matching challenge campaigns.
6. Adopt-a-Mineral Program: $50 donation program where donors receive photo, fact sheet, certificate, and one-year name display by specimen.
7. Corporate Sponsorships: Year-round sponsorship packages (Jasper $500 to Sunstone $10,000) with tiered benefits including tickets, advertising, and behind-the-scenes access.
8. Museum Store Sales: Gift shop sales through Square e-commerce platform, offering minerals, jewelry, books, and educational items.
9. Educational Programs: School tour fees ($100-$300), outreach programs ($150), and camp program fees ($400/week).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum presenting permanent and rotating exhibits of rocks, minerals, crystals, petrified wood, fossils, and meteorites from a working collection of 20,000+ specimens. It supplements the gallery experience with NGSS-aligned school programs, summer camps, outreach programs, birthday parties, event venue rentals, memberships, and a museum store selling rocks, jewelry, and educational items.

Product overview

The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit museum offering a unified visitor experience centered on its world-class collection of rocks, minerals, crystals, fossils, and petrified wood. The core product is the permanent gallery exhibitions (Main Gallery, Murphy Petrified Wood Gallery, Northwest Mineral Gallery, Rainbow Gallery, and Fossil Gallery) supplemented by special time-limited exhibitions. Additional revenue-generating programs include guided tours, school field trips, outreach programs, summer camps, birthday parties, event hosting, and a museum store. The museum offers annual membership tiers with reciprocal benefits and an Adopt-a-Mineral virtual adoption program. A TruTour-powered virtual tour extends access beyond physical visitors. Free outdoor grounds and nature trails complement indoor exhibits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Museum Galleries and Exhibitions Permanent galleries featuring the world-class Rice collection, including the Main Gallery (4,000+ specimens on view from 20,000+ total), Dennis & Mary Murphy Petrified Wood Gallery (460+ specimens), Northwest Mineral Gallery, Rainbow Gallery (fluorescent minerals), and Fossil Gallery. Open to the general public with paid admission.
• Special Exhibitions Limited-time exhibitions such as the Smithsonian-developed 'Cellphone: Unseen Connections' and rotating displays like 'Oceanic Origins' and 'Mighty Morphin' Minerals.'
• Guided Group Tours Expert-led tours covering rock/mineral formation, fossilization, geologic time, and museum history for groups of 1-50 people with pre-registration.
• School Visits and Field Trips NGSS-aligned educational programs for K-12 students including guided tours (90 minutes) and unguided experiences covering the rock cycle, fossils, petrified wood, and PNW geology, priced $100-$300 per group.
• Outreach Programs Museum staff bring hands-on Earth Science activities to schools, camps, and community groups off-site, covering rock types and erosion aligned with Oregon Science Standards at $150 per 50-minute program.
• Summer Camps Week-long themed camps for ages 6-9 run in partnership with Knowledge Keepers Education, including Camp Olympics, cooking, and arts/crafts themes with daily nature exploration at $400/week.
• Birthday Parties Private room rental for up to 25-30 guests with optional geode cracking and gallery tours, including a gift for the guest of honor, at a $300 flat rate.
• Museum Membership Annual membership tiers (Individual $30, Dual $50, Group $75, Rock Club $500) offering unlimited admission, gift shop discounts, member events, and reciprocal benefits with 20+ Portland-area attractions.
• Adopt-a-Mineral Program Virtual adoption of museum specimens for $50, including photo, fact sheet, certificate, and one-year name display by the specimen.
• Event Hosting / Venue Rental Venue rental for weddings, corporate events, and private gatherings accommodating up to 50 indoors and 150 outdoors, with catering and party rental recommendations.
• Virtual Tour TruTour-powered 360-degree immersive virtual tour of museum galleries enabling remote access for distant visitors.
• Museum Store Gift shop offering rocks, minerals, gems, jewelry, books, and educational items, operating online via Square and in person during museum hours.

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Smithsonian InstitutionflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Designated as official Smithsonian Affiliate since 2017. Partnership connects museum to Smithsonian network for traveling exhibits, educational opportunities, and collaborative programming. Museum hosts Smithsonian-developed Cellphone: Unseen Connections exhibit.
• Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District (TSWCD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTSWCD awarded the museum a Tree Grant to restore 12 acres of habitat into Oregon white oak savanna. Partnership involves Douglas-fir and red cedar dieback remediation, oak release, expanded pollinator zones, and invasive species control. Students from Rachel Carson Environmental Middle School participate in hands-on planting activities.
• Ash Creek Forest ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsh Creek Forest Management serves as restoration specialists for the TSWCD Tree Grant project. They guide planting activities, provide expertise on native species selection, and lead educational station activities for student volunteers during field trips.
• Rose City AstronomerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Star Party events featuring telescope viewing, guided stargazing, and astronomical presentations. Rose City Astronomers lead educational activities and help facilitate lunar eclipse observation events at the museum.
• Knowledge Keepers EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Knowledge Keepers Education for summer camp programming. Heather Francis serves as Camp Director with nearly 20 years of children's programming experience. Camps offered include themed weeks like Camp Olympics, Summertime Cooking, and Arts and Crafts.
• Diamond Dan PublicationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership provides Tucker's Kids Club members with monthly Mini Miners e-magazine featuring mineral activities, collection tips, and educational content.
• Smithsonian (Cellphone: Unseen Connections)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerHosting Smithsonian-developed DIY poster exhibition exploring minerals in cellphones. Grant funding enabled programming with Cottonwood middle school students including phone dissection activities.
• Portland State University (Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal meteorite exhibit created in partnership with Portland State University's Cascadia Meteorite Laboratory in 2002, refreshed in 2014.
• Local Gem and Mineral ClubscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTualatin Valley Gem Club, Mt. Hood Rock Club, Oregon Agate and Mineral Society, and Pacific Northwest Chapter of Friends of Mineralogy sponsor exhibit cases, donate specimens, and provide volunteer educators.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Houston Museum of Natural Science: Large nonprofit natural history museum with significant mineral, gem, and paleontology halls plus extensive K-12 programming. Comparable in mission but operates at substantially greater scale and budget.
• Peabody Museum of Natural History (Yale): Major university-affiliated natural history museum with world-class mineral and paleontological collections. A board member (Gail Spann) has served here, indicating institutional adjacency in the natural history museum ecosystem.
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History: The Smithsonian's flagship natural history museum and the parent network of which Rice NW is an Affiliate. Provides the institutional framework, traveling exhibits, and grant pipeline that directly supports Rice NW's programming.

Regional players

• Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI): Portland's flagship science museum with broader STEM focus, larger physical footprint, and stronger institutional funding. Direct regional competitor for K-12 field trip dollars and family visits in the same metro.

Direct peers

• Tellus Science Museum: Northwest Georgia science museum with strong mineral, fossil, and earth science collections plus school programs. Closely comparable niche and educational orientation to Rice NW's mineral/petrified wood focus.
• Perot Museum of Nature and Science: Nonprofit natural history and science museum in Dallas operating permanent and traveling exhibits with strong K-12 educational programming. Shares the same operational model (admissions, memberships, sponsorships, school field trips) as Rice NW.
• Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Nonprofit museum blending geology, mineralogy, and natural history exhibits on a large outdoor campus. Comparable in combining earth science specimens, trails, and K-12 programs at a regional scale.
• New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science: State-affiliated natural history museum focused on geology, paleontology, and earth sciences. Shares the same mineral/fossil exhibition model and school tour program structure.
• Cranbrook Institute of Science: Michigan-based science and natural history museum with earth science exhibits, mineral galleries, and K-12 educational programming. Comparable in size, scope, and educational mission.

Emerging players

• University of Arizona Mineral Museum: University-affiliated mineral museum with overlapping governance (Rice NW board member Gene Meieran chairs its board). Comparable in pure mineral-collection focus but smaller scale and academic affiliation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RiceNWMuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/ricenwmuseum

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals