"The Zinc Miner" sculpture by carrie Boone Nelson, is dedicated to the men who mined the or in Franklin and Ogdensburg, New Jersey, stands on the Museum lawn to welcome visitors.

Franklin, New Jersey is located on the scenic headwaters of the Wallkill River in rural Sussex County's resort section, a region of remarkable geology involving truly ancient rocks, faults with over a thousand feet of vertical displacement and unique mineral deposition.  The area owes its wealth of mineral species to initial formation a billion years ago with subsequent addition and alteration due to geologic forces incident to numerous periods of mountain building.  The Colonists mined iron here and zinc mining was initiated in 1848, ceasing at Franklin in 1954 FRANKLIN AREA MINERAL DISPLAY ROOM & MINING HISTORY

FRANKLIN MINERALS UNDER ULTRA-VIOLET LIGHT	The Fluorescent Room is one of the spectacular sights of the Museum.  Here the various ores and minerals of Franklin are seen under regular light and short wave ultra-violet ray, producing brilliant, fantastic colors.  Franklin minerals are the world's most brilliant, fluorescent minerals.  This displays a sight never to be forgotten.

The replica mine is constructed with timber, rails, ore carts, drilling equipment, ore scoops, etc., actually used in the Zinc mines of Franklin Sterling Hill.  The bi-level replica shows the operation of mining zinc ore.   All mining equipment was donated to the museum by the New Jersey Zinc Co. and was the actual equipment used to operate the Franklin Mines.

INTERIOR OF REPLICA MINE

Over a thousand Franklin Area mineral specimens are displayed in a large room dedicated to the area's mineralogy and mining history.  From the earliest mineral species described in America to a wealth of recent discoveries the museum possesses the largest display of the Franklin area's mineral treasures anywhere.  All display specimens are identified and include local gemstones, colorful crystals and mineral species of great rarity.  Related exhibits explain the mining methods employed and the concentration methods used in the preparation of the ore for smelting.

The Franklin area has produced nearly a tenth of all 3,700 presently known mineral species and is being actively studied by America's foremost mineral scientists.  Initially an ore body of limited value due to its unusual composition, Franklin's Mine Hill became a bonanza producing a half billion dollars worth of zinc, iron and manganese over a period of 106 years.

WELSH COLLECTION OF WORLDWIDE MINERALS	The new Jensen wing of the Museum contains the Wilfred Welsh natural history collections of fossils, native American relics, rocks and minerals, assembled by a science teacher for instruction of his classes.  The displays are spectacular and impressive as well as educational and occupy rooms especially designed for their display.
The Fossils include fish, dinosaur footprints, shells, bones, skulls and beautiful petrified wood.  The native American section features New Jersey finds, Western bead work and pottery.  The rock collection covers the principal types while the mineral display, with well over 4,200 specimens, is noted for its beauty.  Scientific aspects of mineralogy are featured.