Artwork and sculptures representing miner life are on display in Zobel Hall.

 

Thomas Edison’s Electric Cap Lamps lite the mine years ago.

Learn more about our Edison Connection.

 

Fine Mineral Specimens can be viewed in the Oreck Mineral Gallery located in Zobel Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

Numerous Outdoor Exhibits and sculptures, including a 911 Memorial with a beam from the World Trade Center.

 

Group Tours

Sterling Hill Mining Museum offers educational group tours for school classes, scout groups, summer camps, vacation tour groups, etc.

Length of Guided Tours

Guided tours last about two hours and include one hour in the underground zinc mine, half an hour in our large exhibit hall, and about 10 minutes in our museum of fluorescence.

Tour Costs

Group Rates as of 2011:
$9.00 for Adults
$8.00 for Seniors
$7.00 for K-12 students (children under 17 years of age).

Group rates apply only if the following three criteria are met; otherwise the full rates ($1 more than those listed) will apply:
     1) Your group numbers 10 or more paying attendees;
     2) You booked your reservation at least two weeks in advance; and
     3) Your school allows your group to use the gift shop.  Revenue from gift shop sales subsidizes our low admission rates.

For school groups, one teacher per class (15-25 students) is admitted free. Additional adults are regarded as paying chaperones. Please note that prices are subject to change without notice, so please ask for our current rates when calling to inquire about booking a tour.

Note:  Purchase of a tour ticket does not entitle you to collect minerals on the Mine Run dump.  Admission to the collecting areas is a separate $5 charge.  Please see the Mineral Collecting page for details.

The Sterling Hill Mining Museum
30 Plant Street
Ogdensburg, NJ 07439

Tel: 973-209-MINE (6463)
info@sterlinghillminingmuseum.org

Add-on Options

The Rock Discovery Center and Fossil Discovery Center are optional add-ons to your tour and will enhance its educational value. Each will add about 20-30 minutes to your stay and only $4.00 (RDC) or $4.50 (FDC) to your tour cost.

Please note, however, that participation in the Fossil Discovery Center is possible only for small groups such as scouts or a one or two-class school group, and is subject to availability of trained personnel.

The Rock Discovery Center is open Saturdays & Sundays at 11:30am April - November.

Payment

Payment should be made by cash or check upon arrival at the museum. We also accept purchase orders, money orders, credit cards (Visa and MasterCard only), and traveler's checks. If paying in cash, please have all the cash collected prior to arrival.

 

 

Group Size Limits

We can accommodate a maximum of eight classes (180-200 people) on the same date.

The minimum group size is 10 paying attendees. If under 10 in number, please come for our 1:00pm general public tour.

Booking a Tour

Tours can be booked only by calling the mine at 973-209-MINE (6463) and speaking to a reservations clerk.

Calling between the hours of 10:00am and 3:00pm is generally best. Please note in particular the following:

• Sorry, we do not schedule tours or dispense tour information via e-mail or fax. You must call and speak to a reservations clerk.

• Book a tour as soon as you can. Our morning tours for school groups fill up quickly, and it is often necessary to schedule a tour months in advance. During the summer break and on weekends our schedule is normally much more open, but it is still advisable to schedule a tour as soon as you have a firm date in mind.

• Please have two or three alternative dates in mind when booking a tour.

• We do not schedule "placeholder" tours — that is, we will not hold a date open for you while you check on whether that date works for your school, or if buses or funds are available. This must be done beforehand. Once you schedule a tour, it implies a commitment both on your part and ours.

 

 

Reservations Are Necessary

Merely notifying us that you are coming with a group is insufficient, as your group may conflict with another already scheduled, or we may not have enough tour guides on hand to accommodate you. In either case, you may be denied entry. Group tours must be booked at least two weeks in advance. Call 973-209-MINE (6463)

Cancellation Policy

If you must cancel a tour or request a change of date, please call us as soon as possible so you will have maximum opportunity to reschedule, and so we may fill the vacated time slot with another group on the waiting list. Failure to notify us of cancellations in a timely manner may result in your school being banned from further visitations.

Please note that most of our tour takes place either indoors (in two exhibit halls) or underground in the mine, so tours take place no matter the weather. Weather extremes are cause for tour cancellations only when they constitute threats to public safety, as when roads become impassible due to flooding or hazardous due to snow.

 

 

Self-Guided Tours

Visitors are welcome to view the outdoor exhibits of mining equipment on the parking-lot level on their own, but entry to the mine and any of our buildings except for the gift shop/ticket sales area requires the presence of a tour guide.

General Information for School Groups

Upon arrival at the museum, your group will usually be brought en masse into our exhibit hall, where our younger attendees will participate in a scavenger hunt and view the thousands of items on display. Following this we will divide your group into classes (about 15-25 students each, with their respective teachers and chaperones), and a tour guide will lead you into the underground mine.

Please note that regardless of the weather or season it is a cool 56° in the mine, so make sure each student brings a light jacket or sweater, even in summer. Upon exiting the mine your tour group will enter a museum of fluorescence, where hundreds of minerals, rocks, household objects, and other items are seen glowing brightly under ultraviolet light. Our museum features indoor as well as outdoor sheltered picnic tables, modern restroom facilities, a snack bar, and a fully stocked museum store.

Please note that the above order may be changed if other groups are already here upon your arrival, or if your own group totals more than three or four classes. In either case we will then have to send different classes to different places in the museum. The order in which you see things, however, matters little — rest assured that each class will see everything and have the full tour experience.

Call 973-209-MINE (6463)