Gem & Mineral Museum-Franklin

Great free museum for my kids who are into rocks right now. Staffed by volunteers who love geology and loved sharing their passion with my kids.

We were visiting downtown franklin and stopped by. There was a wide variety of crystals, gem stones etc. There was also the upstairs jail. Everything was very authentic, the people were very helpful of any questions we had. They also have jewelry and stones for sale!

The staff was helping and friendly and you can really feel their passion. The souvenirs are also very reasonably priced. I got many stones for my collection and although no jewelry suited me it was all nice too.

This museum is in downtown Franklin, and it is free to enter. It is also built into what used to be a jail, so that is really cool. They still have an old jail cell that you can go into, and it is a neat experience! The exhibits themselves are super cool, as well. All of the items are labelled which was very helpful. They have volunteers and workers that go around and help educate people, and they really made me feel welcome. They also have a shop that has reasonably-priced goods. I was very impressed coming here, and I am interested in visiting again!

My husband and I had a great time touring the Gem and Mineral Museum in downtown Franklin, NC. The history of the old town jail, the stunning mineral collections, and the friendly staff made for a memorable and fun visit.

Absolutely a hidden gem pun intended! I was looking for things to do with kids in town and this popped up. Enjoy walking around the beautiful gardens first and entrance to museum is free. The staff are quite delightful and offered a tour for our family and really engaged our kids. I'm never one to buy souvenirs but ended up getting some here to support the museum and there were some interesting items. Recommended visit for the family and so glad there are affordable family fun and educational that still exists

We weren't sure what to expect from this little museum, but absolutely LOVED it. They offered a great small tour that was interesting to the adults as well as our 6-year-old. I was shocked at the amount and variety of their displays. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful too. I highly recommed a visit, especially if you are visiting one of the local mines.