The Gillespie Museum

The museum is open with regular hours - Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Plan a visit to see what's new in the New Year!

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date on all Gillespie Museum and Volusia Sandhill happenings!

You are welcome to wander through the grounds, including the Native Florida Landscape and the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem. (Guides to both outdoor spaces are available online at the webpage links above and in the Pollination Station box near the sidewalk between the museum building and the Rinker Environmental Learning Center-RELC.)

See our Educational Resources Page for a wonderful collection of downloadable materials for engaging at home, museum grounds, and outdoor learning.

The Gillespie Museum features one of the premier historic mineral collections in the southeast, and seasonally changing exhibits on an array of earth science and natural history topics. With native ecology interpretive and research areas and other multi-use eco-areas across its grounds, and a dedication to inspired environmental programming, the Gillespie has become a center for science education on campus, in the local community, and beyond.

Find out about museum hours, contact information, membership, school programs and more.

Follow Us

During the school year, don't miss our weekly #MineralMonday, #WingedWednesday and #FollowerFridayposts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (click the link buttons below). And...New this year: the Gillespie's on TikTok! Check out our "Meet the Staff" video! Also, browse our Throughline Virtual Gallery; this past student project will help you "get your art on" via various creative prompts.

You can also Sign Up for our Mailing List to receive email updates with news and information on museum events and programming, online resources and activities, and other engagement opportunities inside and outside of the museum walls.

Events

View all ongoing museum Events and News, or individual Science Café and Science Saturday schedules.

Dates at a Glance

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Stay tuned for updates about Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 exhibits, events, and programs... Join our mailing list to keep informed!

Exhibits

View all current Museum Exhibits, as well as an archive of selected past installations.

(For a complete listing of the museum's online educational resources, including selected exhibit materials, see our Educational Resources Page, or download this comprehensive Overview of Gillespie Museum Online Resources.)

Open through May 2025 only, Uncertain Sanctuary: Florida Springs Sculptures by Judith Greavu - Come check out this stunning new exhibit of bronze and kiln-cast glass sculptures representing an important perspective on these uniquely-Florida imperiled aquatic gems, and learn about the state of our springs in an associated display featuring materials from the Florida Springs Council and the Florida Springs Institute. And all exhibit sculptures are for sale!--with half the proceeds going to the Florida Springs Council to help with efforts to protect our springs! Please support this beautiful art and this worthy cause.

Coming April 22!  Minerals in Space: Building Blocks to the Stars is a new student-curated exhibit about the importance of minerals in space exploration and the aerospace industry.  Join us for the Exhibit Opening & Gallery Talk on April 22 at 4 p.m. to meet student curator, Mary DeNote, Stetson History & Political Science major, class of 2027.  Coffee & donuts will be served!  Cultural Credit available for Stetson undergraduates.

Now Open! The Nature Nook - This new permanent exhibit & gallery space will present The Living Palette: Art for the Earth and Mind, a student-submitted art exhibit curated by the Stetson Environmental Fellows on display from March 28 through April 25, along with ongoing touch table, artifacts, & nature activities. Come check it out in the Rinker Environmental Learning Center (RELC) adjacent to the museum! (Open during regular museum hours except when classes, field trips, and special events are in session.) See museum front desk for info. 

Minerals in the Artist's Palette - Opened in fall 2022, this exhibit investigates the use of natural mineral pigments in art across the ages and around the globe.  Continuing in the museum.

Meteorites/Rocks from Space - Come explore space rocks at the Gillespie!  Learn how rock fragments from outer space reveal clues about our planet and the solar system in this small display of iron meteorites and silica-based tektites from the Historic Gillespie Collection.  Continuing in the museum.

Florida Formations - 500 million years of Florida geology - This permanent exhibit is a tale of the state's past environments and climates as told through its distinctive rock units and associated fossils.

Outdoors & Grounds

See what's happening Outdoors at the Gillespie Museum.

The Grounds of the Gillespie Museum and the adjacent Rinker Environmental Learning Center (RELC) provide natural space for outdoor education and place-based research, constituting an integral part of the continuing environmental programming and initiatives of the museum and of the larger Stetson community.

The acreage surrounding the Gillespie features the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem restoration project, as well as our Native Florida Plant Landscape. It also provides greenhouse and garden space for Stetson's Hatter Harvest, a sweet home for Stetson Beekeeping, and seasonal replenishment for our Seed Library.

Join us for upcoming Volusia Sandhill events!

Museum Hours

• Tuesday through Friday: 10 am to 4 pm
• The museum is occasionally open on weekday evenings for special events and programs.
• Saturday: Open once a month for Science Saturday from 10 am to noon.

The museum will be CLOSED during the 2024-25 academic holidays, including Fall Break (October 10-11); Stetson University Values Day (November 14); Thanksgiving Holiday (November 27-29); Winter Break (December 9-January 13); Spring Holidays (March 3-7); Stetson Showcase (April 15); and Good Friday (April 18).  

Staff may be reached by email ([email protected]) or phone 386-822-7330. Stay tuned to our website and subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date on all Gillespie Museum and Volusia Sandhill happenings!

Admissions & Membership

Walk-in Visitors

• No admissions fee. Donations support educational programming.
• The Gillespie is proud to be a Museums for All participant.

(We are pleased to offer discounted museum memberships to SNAP EBT cardholders.)

Educational Programs (Classes K-12, scouts, homeschool groups, etc.)

• Students: $2.50
• Teachers/Chaperones: No charge

Membership

• Benefits include special members-only programs, gift shop discounts, subscriptions to our weekly e-newsletter, and participation in the ASTC Passport Program.
• Plus, your membership directly supports our educational programs and exhibits!  Apply for your Gillespie Museum membership today!

Identification & Donation of Specimens

Unfortunately, we are not able to assist with specimen identification or to receive acquisitions of collections or new specimens at this time.  Thank you for your understanding.