Pinal Gem and Mineral Society
The club behind the free Pinal Geology and Mineral Museum in Coolidge
- Museum
- Pinal Geology and Mineral Museum, 351 N Arizona Blvd, Suite 2, Coolidge
- Admission
- Free
- Meets
- 3rd Wednesday of the month (2nd Wednesday in November)
- Interests
- Geology, minerals, fossils, Arizona earth history
- Kids
- Rock dig, treasure hunt and fossil dig for students
- Events
- Arizona Fossil Fest at the museum, with fossil identification by experts
Club with field trips for members
Based in Coolidge, Arizona.
pinalgeologymuseum.org ↗facebook.com ↗
Email:
Prospect on your own near Coolidge
7 gem and mineral spots on open public land with no claim on record, within 50 miles.
Nearest open public land on our fossil and meteorite map: about 96 miles away.
There are more on the map, some of them with a possible mining claim.
About Pinal Gem and Mineral Society
The Pinal Gem and Mineral Society is the club behind the Pinal Geology and Mineral Museum in Coolidge, the only science museum in Pinal County. The members created the museum and run it, with the guidance of a geologist who founded it and serves as curator, and admission is free.
The museum tells the story of the Earth through rocks, gems and fossils, starting from Pinal County and Arizona but with a worldwide view. There is a geology gallery, a mineral gallery, a room of fluorescent minerals, an exhibit on Meteor Crater, one on the Gila River, outdoor displays and a fossil exhibit. School groups can do a rock dig, a treasure hunt and a fossil dig, and the museum recently received a Congressional award.
The society also brings people together around the collection. On May 9, 2026 the museum hosted the Arizona Fossil Fest, a free day where visitors could have their fossils identified by experts, with the Arizona Museum of Natural History among the exhibitors. The society's newsletter comes out monthly, and members meet on the third Wednesday of the month, the second in November, at the museum's building on N Arizona Blvd.
The museum's founder and curator is also one of the authors of the fourth edition of Mineralogy of Arizona, published in 2022, which raised the count of mineral species known from the state to 992. If you have found something in the desert around Coolidge and can't name it, this is a good place to bring it.
Other clubs and places nearby
- GPAA Apache Junction ChapterClub · 29 mi
- Apache Junction Rock and Gem ClubClub · 31 mi
- Southwest Paleontological SocietyClub · 35 mi
- Mineralogical Society of ArizonaClub · 46 mi
- Gila County Gem & Mineral SocietyClub · 48 mi
- Roadrunner Prospectors ClubClub · 50 mi
Where to buy gear nearby
- Desert DryWashersOnline shop · 14 mi
- Natural ExpressionsShop · 27 mi
- Arizona Gift CenterShop · 30 mi
- A & B Prospecting Supplies (Mesa)Shop · 33 mi