Sterling Hill Mine Tour & Museum - (973) 209-7212

Step Into Earth Science... An enduring geological mystery, a world-famous mineral deposit and a National Historic Site and it’s all right here in a New Jersey museum, just an hour’s drive from the George Washington Bridge.

Visitors to the Sterling Hill Mining Museum step back in time as they enter the grounds of this former industrial site. The museum exhibits, offices, and other facilities are housed in the original buildings used by the New Jersey Zinc Company when the mine was operational. Most of the on-site structures date from two major periods of construction, the first from 1914 to about 1930, and the second from 1954 to 1957. Several of these buildings, as well as the underground zinc mine itself, are featured parts of our public tours. Additional buildings, not yet open to the public, are slated to become part of the museum at some time in the future. The Sterling Hill Mining Museum is the only place in New Jersey where members of the public can tour a large underground mine and see for themselves how mining was done at one of the world's most famous mineral localities.The Sterling Hill zinc mine, which closed in 1986 and the site purchased in 1989 by Richard and Robert Hauck. Long interested in the mining industry, the Hauck brothers set out to preserve the legacy of Sterling Hill and make the site accessible to the public as a mining museum. The Sterling Hill Mining Museum opened for tours on August 4, 1990 and is now visited by more than 40,000 people annually.

Visit our underground mine tour and museum of fluorescent minerals!

We are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit committed to tell the story of the Sterling Hill Mine and to inspire lifelong learning about earth sciences, engineering, and the responsible use of the Earth’s nonrenewable resources.

We are concerned not just with the metallic resources that most people think of when they hear the word "mining", but with all commodities taken from the Earth — bulk rock taken from our quarries, sand and clay excavated from surface pits, and oil and gas obtained by drilling. These commodities constitute the raw materials from which almost everything else — our houses, cars, highways and bridges, computers, on and on — are made.

As an institution we are neither pro-mining nor anti-mining. Instead, we are a museum about mining, again with that word used in its broadest possible context. We teach not only how mined materials are produced, but also about the many uses to which mined materials are put, and we place special emphasis on the environmental and societal consequences of resource extraction. Alternatives to mining, such as recycling and the use of alternative materials, are highlighted as well.

Tags: Museum