GEMS Table of Contents Page

We are a nonprofit educational resource center dedicated to enhancing science education through standards-based programs that support school districts, pre-service teachers, and in-service teachers. While our emphasis is science, we integrate history and geography into many of our programs

Where are we?

We are located in the northwest corner of New Jersey in the town of Ogdensburg, near the point where Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey meet. We welcome school groups from all three states. Map and Directions

What is our parent organization?

We are part of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to education, historic mine preservation, and scientific research. The Museum is open to the public and illustrates the entire mining process from ore extraction to milling through tours of its underground mining tunnels and indoor and outdoor exhibits. The Museum serves 24,000 pre-college students and their teachers each year, and several thousand more visitors from camps, colleges, and the general public.

What else is on our grounds?

Also located on the grounds of the Sterling Hill Mining Museum is the Thomas S. Warren Museum of Fluorescence, displaying hundreds of fluorescent mineral specimens as well as exhibits explaining fluorescence, bioluminescence, and the industrial uses of fluorescence and ultraviolet light.

Who's on our staff?

Our educational team includes experts in K–12 education, university-level education, teacher training, the geosciences, land-use planning, and resource use.

What awards and recognition have we received?

Sterling Hill Mining Museum is a registered New Jersey Department of Education Professional Development provider.
Sterling Hill Mining Museum is listed by the National Park Service in the National Register of Historic Places.
An underground tunnel scene from the Sterling Hill Mine is exhibited in the Mine Gallery of the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
Montclair State University awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Science Education to us in 2001.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania awarded the Carnegie Mineralogical Award to the Sterling Hill Mining Museum in 2000. An award of international renown, it honors outstanding contributions in mineralogical preservation, conservation, and education that match ideals advanced in the Carnegie Museum’s Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems.
The National Association of Geoscience Teachers, Eastern Division, awarded the Ralph Digman Award to the Sterling Hill Mining Museum for its efforts in Earth Science education in 2001. Typically given to individuals, this was the first time it was given to an organization.
The Fluorescent Mineral Society has designated the Thomas S. Warren Museum of Fluorescence at Sterling Hill as the official museum for their international organization.

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