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The Gillespie Museum

The museum is open during regular hours, Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  New this spring: The Nature Nook!  Come explore!  

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.)

Gillespie Museum Grounds aerial map

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.

Mailing list icon for Gillespie Museum    Facebook logo Twitter logo instagram logo    Throughline art-in-nature gallery icon

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.

Gillespie Museum Events and News

Events

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

Dates at a Glance

  • August 31 - Science Cafe - The Geological Story of Florida with Gillespie Museum Director Kristen Marshall-Mattson; 6 p.m. in the RELC, 5:30 for snacks/social; Cultural Credit available for Stetson undergraduates.
  • September 23 - Science Saturday - Opening of Petroglyphics, 10 a.m.-noon; Join us for some hands-on rock art and mineral activities to kick off the new school year!
  • September 23, 2023 - May 2024 - Petroglyphics - Immerse yourself in our new exhibit of unique rock art by Carolyn J. Haas, on display in the museum. 
  • September 28 - Science Cafe - Underwater Archaeology with Chuck Meide, Director, Lighthouse Archaeological Maritime Program, St. Augustine; 6 p.m. in the RELC, 5:30 for snacks/social; Cultural Credit available for Stetson undergraduates.
  • September 29 - Watercolor Workshop in the Volusia Sandhill, adjacent to the museum; meet at the RELC, at 3 p.m.; RSVP to save your seat! Cultural Credit event for Stetson undergraduates.
  • October 17-20 - Adopt-a-Wildflower for Florida Native Plant Month, in the Volusia Sandhill restoration area, adjacent to the Gillespie, during regular museum hours.
  • October 19 - Science Cafe - Demystifying the Florida Black Bear with Mike Orlando, FWC, Bear Management Program; 6 p.m. in the RELC, 5:30 for snacks/social; Reservations encouraged - RSVP today! Cultural Credit is available for Stetson undergraduates.
  • October 28 - Science Saturday - Mostly Green Halloween - Our annual family-friendly fall fair! 10 a.m.-noon; Outdoor activities, crafts, & explorations.  Costumes encouraged!  Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!
  • November 3 - Birds and Blooms, Public workshop offered by the Florida Native Plant Society; 3 p.m. in the RELC.  Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!  Cultural Credit available for Stetson undergraduates.
  • November 9 - Science Cafe - Is Water Lettuce Native? with Allen Dray and Paul Madeira, USDA, Invasive Plant Research Laboratory; 6 p.m. in the RELC, 5:30 for snacks/social; Reservations encouraged - RSVP today! Cultural Credit is available for Stetson undergraduates.
  • November 18 - Science Saturday - Founder's Day Celebration! 10 am - noon; It's the Gillespie Museum’s birthday! Join us for some special activities!  Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!
  • November 21 - Fall Drop-in Craft Project, all day, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Everyone is welcome to stop by the museum anytime during our regular hours today for a fun, festive, fall-themed activity!  For more info & to RSVP--reservations are encouraged!
  • December 8 - Tea Time (&Ethnobotany!) at the Gillespie, 3 p.m.; Enjoy & learn about yaupon holly tea; museum members, and Stetson students, faculty/staff only, please.  (If you're not a member and would like to attend, it's not too late to join the museum!Cultural Credit is available for Stetson undergraduates.  For more info & to RSVP--reservations are encouraged!

  • February 22 - Science Cafe - Searching for the First Floridians – Excavations at the Tatum-Crockett Site (8CO1483) on the Lower Santa Fe River with Bob Knight, Director, Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute; 6 p.m. in the RELC, 5:30 for snacks/social; Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!  Cultural Credit available for Stetson undergraduates.
  • February 24 - Science Saturday - Creatures of the Night with the Central Florida Zoo, 10 a.m.-noon; Join us for some awesome live animal action in the RELC!  Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!
  • March - Opening March 12! - The Nature Nook, featuring the nature photography of Ray Johnson, with a touch table, artifacts, & nature activities; ongoing in the RELC during regular museum hours.
  • March 14 - Science Cafe - Solar Eclipse 2024 with Derek Demeter, Director, Seminole State College Planetarium; 6 pm in the RELC, 5:30 for snacks/social; Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!  Cultural Credit available for Stetson undergraduates.
  • March 16 - Science Saturday - STEAM Festival! 10 a.m.-noon; Join us in celebrating everything Science Technology Engineering Arts and mathematics!  Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!
  • March 26 - Celebrate Spring! Drop-in Event - Fun for all ages!  Stop in anytime today 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. for a take-home craft, scavenger hunt, and to check out our new interactive exhibit The Nature Nook! with touch table, artifacts, & nature activities. More info about spring drop in event
  • April 18 - Science Cafe - Coastal Pollution Challenges with Brooke Saari (Stetson alum), South Carolina Sea Grant; 6 p.m. in the RELC, 5:30 for snacks/social; Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!  Cultural Credit available for Stetson undergraduates.
  • April 20 - Science Saturday - Earth Day at the Gillespie! 10 am-noon; Our annual celebration of the planet & its wonders! Reservations encouraged - RSVP today!

Want More Details?  Join our mailing list to stay informed!

Stay tuned for updates about Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 exhibits, events, and programs... Join our mailing list to keep informed!

Gillespie Museum Exhibits

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.)

Nature Nook

Opening March 12! The Nature Nook - This new permanent exhibit & gallery space will feature the nature photography of Ray Johnson this spring, along with a 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.)

Petroglyphics

Petroglyphics: Stories from the EarthNow Open!  Come check out our newest exhibit of fascinating rock art creations by Carolyn J. Haas!  On display in the museum through May 2024.  Learn more on the artist's website.

The Bone Wars Exhibit

The Bone Wars: Museums, Fossils, & National Identity - New Student Exhibit, Opened April 2023!  Come learn about the Bone Wars (1870s to 1910s), a period of hyper-competitive national and international fossil-hunting, in this installation based on Gillespie Museum staffer Katie Wedderstrand's senior research project.  On display through December 2023 in the museum. 

Minerals in the Artist's Palette

Minerals in the Artist's Palette - Opened fall 2022!  This new exhibit investigates the use of natural mineral pigments in art across the ages and around the globe.  On display through May 2024 in the museum.

meteorites rocks from space

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 through May 2024.

 Florida Formations exhibit poster

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

 

Gillespie Museum Grounds

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

The museum will be closed during the 2023-24 academic holidays, including Fall Break (October 12-13); Thanksgiving Holiday (November 22-24); Winter Break (December 11-January 8); Spring Holidays (March 4-8); Good Friday (March 29); and Stetson Showcase (April 16).  

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.

Museums For All logo

(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

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.