Quite educational community-run museum. Very kind folks here. Almost all of the items presented are lent by separate individuals** which is wonderful & quite generous. Spent quite a while reading the placards and asking the lovely staff/volunteers questions. Love to see it!

Very educational. Interesting and extensive display. Staff is all volunteers and building is not ideal but it works and is well worth a look! Plus, GEODES!!!

Such a great little find! My son is a rock hound and this was a great place for us to visit. The volunteers/employees were knowledgeable and friendly. We will definitely go back. Make sure to get a geode cracked while youre there!

Fascinating find in a small town friend very friendly and knowledgeable staff amazing diversity of stones and petrified wood and the like

What this museum lacks in size it makes up for with the diversity of exhibits, density of information, and informed and enthusiastic volunteers. Located in a former bank vault, it is at basement level, accessible from 4th St or Main St. My 91 year old father (who lives in a skilled nursing facility) was able to enjoy the museum via Main St elevator access (inside the room of the Henderson Historical Museum). The distance between the displays allowed plenty room for him to get around using his walker. Of special interest were minerals and meteorites from North Carolina. The most fascinating exhibit showed the luminescence of certain minerals under different light. Also on exhibit are fossils, human skulls, petrified wood, and much more. A special treat: we purchased a geode that two volunteers split in two then gave a verbal and written analysis of the minerals inside. A very special, precious place.

Great place! They took precautions checked temperatures had hand sanitizer and had a wonderful collection of rocks and minerals. They cracked geodes. Was a nice time.

Really cool little museum. Friendly and helpful, knowledgeable folks. Great collection. Will return.

Great exp for families very educational

Great place to find rocks, and very educational. Friendly helpful staff.

This place is very interesting to visit. Amazing rocks and gems, where they are from plus many facts most folks wouldnt know. its downstairs but definitely worth a visit. Donations accepted and a few fun things for the kids.

The staff were very personable and took their time to show us everything and answer any questions we had. Our grandchildren loved buying a gemnode and helping to crack it open and see the beauty inside!

Great little hole in the wall museum. Very interesting free and dang good native spear point collection.Real nice Clovis point I desired . Good small shop very knowledgeable staff fun to talk toThe bears on the street d are cool

Really cool place to look at fossils and minerals. You can break you own geodes here and youre the first to see whats inside! There is also many other things you can buy here.pretty much a small shop plus museum in one.

Super cool and very informative! Hard to find parking, but the short walk is totally worth it!

Nice exhibits and the kids enjoyed it.

I visited this museum as a child and still have fond memories of cracking open my own geode and getting to take it home. It is very informative and interactive, so a great experience for the whole family. Its also located right in the heart of downtown.

Friendly, informative, awesome displays.

This place is such a gem! The staff is very knowledgable and great with kids! So many beautiful things to look at!

This is a nice little museum in downtown Hendersonville.

This museum is free, donations welcomed. They have an extensive amount of items on display for the limited size of the museum. The staff is available for any questions. The fluorescent display is very informative. Would recommend a visit.

Very detailed displays geode cracking inside and on the apple festival they really crack geodes fully air conditioned so great on a hot day or bad weather the staff is friendly and usually mostly volunteers and they are always looking for people to volunteer who are Rock Hounds in fact I volunteered at the geode cracking stand on the apple festival and it was a wonderful experience and I suggest anyone interested in rocks and minerals that you should go check out the displays and gift shop and consider volunteeringTldr: very good

The kids really enjoyed seeing the different rocks, minerals, and gems. They were able to watch the staff crack open 3 geodes while we were there and identify what was inside. The luminescence show was interesting as well.

Great free museum in Hendersonville. Can select a geoode and crack it as a unique souvenir!

Neat little basement museum with helpful and knowledgeable staff! You can pick geodes from a variety of sizes and prices that theyll crack for you right there and tell you about the different crystals inside. Very educational while being kid friendly!

Soooooo coooool. Great stop to take the family. They have geodes for sale and you get to crack them open there. It’s worth paying the few dollars more for the better geodes. We bought 3 and they were all different inside and they were all cool.

Always fun. My grand children loved their visit too. All the volunteers are so helpful and of course they have so much knowledge and pleasantly give fun facts to all. They seem to beg for your questions...love their kindness. Go visit youll be surprised and delighted.

This is a great place to visit when you visit Hendersonville, such a knowledgeable staff and great inventory. Thanks so much for all you do for our community, and for the knowledge you impart. Love it here!

If you like rocks and minerals, you will really like this place. As I understand it, it is ran by volunteers. They were very knowledgeable and ready to share information.

Awesome Exhibits, friendly and fun staff, free but with reasonably priced worth it souvenirs

Fun stop in Hendersonville. The kids liked touching a real dinosaur egg. They also like the glowing rock display.

Internet says it’s OPEN, we went and it was closed! The lady in the same building was rude and stuffy about it. Not a good experience at all!

The folks are super friendly and fun! Cracking geodes was part of the overall experience

Cool place where you can crack open a geode.

Very nice little museum! Great pieces on display. Ill be sure to visit again the next time Im in town!

They have not updated their Google profile. They say theyre open and theyre not

An excellent array of fossils and minerals from both North Carolina, North America, and across the world. The staff are super knowledgeable, and personable, a great place to visit.

Wow, this is a must seeif youre in to stones, minerals and fossils! And let the hosts talk, because they know so much! Very very recommended

Spent an hour+ with daughter looking at the beautiful rocks and crystals. Recommend watching the video that shows the luminous qualities of rock crystals. You can purchase geodes which they will crush open while you watch.No public bathroom makes for loss of star from me. It was also very warm.Stairs limit access and no elevator access, so another star lost.The curators were helpful when asked but slow to assist after recommending that we watch the video upon our arrival.It was free of charge to visitors but be prepared to spend money once there, on gifts.Dinosaur bones and prehistoric skulls were cool to see there as well.

What an amazing place. Its a tiny tucked away hidden gem in Hendersonville.

There is always something you havent seen. Kudos to Diane Lapp for hosting 105 school children today! Come volunteer, its great

Gorgeous free museum with amazing things to see and super nice staff. Don’t miss the quick educational show with lights. A looking museum not a reading museum. Small gift shop area with some cool rocks.

Really neat place to go off the beaten path of main street. Many gems and high quality pieces to look at. The gentleman who helped us knew all kinds of information about the minerals. Also, took the time to have a rock split for us and it makes a nice souvenir.

Good place to check out when your looking for something new to do! We really enjoyed it!

Very cool place great for kids all hands on

I never tire of minerals and gems, and this place has some gorgeous specimens!! Definitely worth the stop, especially for free!

We always love going to see the rocks.

Very informative,Friendly people and many beautiful gems and fossils

Always a good time. Learning about minerals, gems, etc. Geodes are great fun too. No admission.

Cute little place where you can crack your own geode! Had to mail it home though... Apparently geodes arent TSA approved!

They have rocks and gems from all over the world. Also have dinosaur fossils. They sell jewelry too.

Nice little museum. Free. Interesting presentation on fluorescence. Nice displays of fossils, minerals. Even some meteorites. Small gift shop with jewelry and crack your own geodes.

Some really neat items in here and the staff are very knowledgeable. Definitely a great place to visit if youre in Hendersonville.

The men running the place are very knowledgeable. Our kids loved looking at all of the beautiful rocks and cracking open a geode.

Great collection and great staff highly recommend checking them out

This is a cute little museum. I was surprised at everything they had inside. My 11 and 6 year old really enjoyed it.

Spectacular exhibits and amazing, sweet people that explain the beautiful rocks on display.

They help you find things that you are looking for and they are very nice and very informative

The mineral and Lapidary museum is an amazing collection of geology, a collection of rocks from all around the globe, not to mention at a very knowledgeable staff in the back they have equipment for faceting polishing cutting with blades or with chains the displays are well-thought-out and extremely informative

Wonderful experience learning and visuals about the many aspects of gemstones and minerals

Loved it. Lots to see. People were available to answer any questions as well.

Nice collection with a very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful team.

This medium-sized, air-conditioned, well-lit, educational facility is hidden away on the Lower Level of an ornate corner building, but it may be easily entered from Main Street by a stairwell or an elevator, or by its ground-level side entrance along Fourth Avenue East.The museum features fossils of prehistoric creatures, spectacularly-glowing fluorescent minerals (in bright orange, green, gold, blue and red), an impressive replica of a humongous Tyrannosaurus skull, a child-oriented and educational gift shop, a geode-cracking mechanism for use by careful visitors, a fossil-cast of a gigantic Mammoth tusk, crystallized oddities and rocks from around the globe, and locally-made, hand-crafted jewelry & lapidary items for sale as gifts.

Excellent mineral display and very interesting staff. Our granddaughter had a wonderful experiencence.

Some interesting specimens. Cool mammoth teeth.

What a cool hidden GEM, really! Interesting rocks, gems, fossils, corals...you name it! Sorry I didnt bring cash to make a donation

I love the many gems and minerals there!

Free! Nice selection of minerals. A nice cool place to visit if you get hot walking up and down the street. People there to answer your questions if youre interested.

Very interesting museum.

Had a wonderful time. The gentlemen that volunteer and run it are friendly and knowledgeable. I cant wait to go back. If you have children, they will love this place.

Easy to view an extremely good collection.

I have to give this place props even tho I didnt go inThe town was having their Xmas/Holiday parade

Great little museum and is donation based. There are some nice exhibit of phosphorescent minerals, fossils and even some meteorites. Gifts are priced low as well. Geodes cracked daily. Friendly volunteer staff too!

Nice people. Working on donations only. Vety willing to share their knowledge of geology and the specimens they have. Cool place to visit.

This is a great field trip for kids. Admission is free but you may buy handmade gifts or buy a geode to open and take home. Fun and informative.

It is hard to find since it is in the basement. But if you have time in small town Hendersonville, it is cute museum. You can buy some stones and rocks as I did.

Great little gemstone and mineral museum tucked away. Staff very friendly and happy to explain anything there. Not too big though dont expect to stay too long.

Excellent collection. A nice family friendly thing to do with school aged kids (or grown ups who are still rock hounds).

Fantastic displays of gems and minerals, fun to open geodes and see the beauty, beautiful hand made jewelry, and its FREE to visit. Prices on things to purchase are low, and the museum thrives because of the dedication by those who love the natural beauty supplied by this earth and created by artisans.... And with donations.

It is small but well worth visiting.

Love this place! Admission is free, they have great displays, and a nice gift shop. Great stuff for kids and adults alike. They also sell and crack geodes for you! How cool is that?!?

I love this place you can also cracked geodes there and take him with you for a fee can get a decent geode for $25

My boyfriend used to visit this place a lot when he was a kid so he took me here one day because he thought I would like it and he was correct! Such beautiful sights inside!! You definitely have to see for yourself!

I always enjoy visiting and theres something for nearly all ages. Must-sees include a short presentation on fluorescence and phosphorescence (who doesnt like glowy rocks?), the cast T. rex skull and other fossils, ancient artifacts, and the replica Hope Diamond! Be sure to check out the geode-cracking station as well; the volunteers are always really enthusiastic!

Nice display. It was really nice to see local specimens.

Really friendly staff & cool stuff to look at! They took the time to explain all the different types of geodes & the different minerals inside the one they cracked for me!

Nice displays, free, very interesting. A must see.

Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. Nice specimens

Small but well-done gallery. Lovingly curated by knowledgeable geologists and artisans.

Nice little mineral museum and gift shop.

Lovely little mineral museum. No admission . Great displays and some really great rocks.

Awesome place to visit.

The family had a blast. The kids loved that they could crack our own geodes.

I visit this place every time I go to Hendersonville, the staff are very nice & knowledgeable and I learn something new every time.

Fun place to visit.. I was able to purchase a geode and let my wife crack it open. very friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Just great. For kids, adults, everybody. Displays are well done with a good variety of rocks and fossils. FREE admission - but be nice and leave a donation. Nice prices in the gift shop, too.

This is one of our favorite stops when we are downtown. Friendly staff, interesting specimens and fun items in the gift shop.

Small little museum but very interesting and some cool items. Staff was super friendly.

Awesome place. Friendly owner. No bathroom be aware. Enjoyed happening upon it.

Great place to take kids and learn about minerals. The black light exhibit is the best!!

Very friendly and informative host. Love Rocks