Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals, Hillsboro, Oregon (just outside of Portland)

摘要

There seems to be a theme for the four reviews in this issue: at a time when many institutions are warehousing or deaccessioning "good rocks" to make room for dinosaurs and push buttons, these four museums are steadfastly insisting on the value of putting fine mineral specimens on public display. With the disclaimer that this is "our museum" (I live in the Pacific Northwest), it is nevertheless fair to say that the Rice Museum is the finest public display of world-class mineral specimens on the Pacific coast north of Los Angeles. Located a few miles west of Portland in a one-story (with full basement) ranch-style house and a separate, completely renovated two-story gallery, the museum receives some 25,000 visitors annually, over half of them being schoolchildren in groups.