$725,000 for Maine Mineral and Gem Museum in Bethel Secured by Senator Collins in Funding Bill in First Key Step

Washington, D.C.--U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured $725,000 for the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum (MMGM) in Bethel in the draft Fiscal Year 2023 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill.  The funding would be used to purchase equipment to study lithium and other minerals as well as to develop educational programs for K-12 students.  The bill, which was officially released by the full Senate Appropriations Committee today, must still be voted upon by the full Senate and House.

“The Maine Mineral and Gem Museum is home to a wide array of geologic marvels, from the Maine state gemstone, tourmaline, to out-of-this-world fragments from the moon, Mars, and meteorites,” said Senator Collins.  “This funding would help students across the region to access this educational resource.  Additionally, this project would help researchers determine whether Maine’s abundant supply of pegmatites could help power our clean energy future.  As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to champion this funding on behalf of the MMGM as the appropriations process moves forward.”

MMGM aims to maximize the impact of the museum’s research and programming to build, broaden and deepen its service to the community and state. 

One of the goals that this funding would support is to provide opportunities for every teacher from K-12 in Oxford County to visit MMGM and eventually every student to experience the MMGM laboratory to encourage students to practice science and consider careers in research and science.

This funding would also support the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment to study the lithium resource potential of Maine pegmatites.  Lithium is an essential component of batteries and is in high demand for hybrid and electric cars.  New and reliable instrumentation would attract students and increase MMGM’s stature and visibility among a broader audience through its research and developing educational programs.

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MMGM opened in 2019, established by Dr. Lawrence Stifler and Mary McFadden, J.D., as an outgrowth of their love of Maine and deep passion for land conservation. Over the course of several decades, the museum founders amassed over 15,000 acres, now established as a land trust, which includes historic mineral and gem mines. 

Western Maine boasts a long history of mineral and gem discovery and Bethel is central to some of the area’s most historic feldspar quarries. Their legacies and the preservation here in Maine of its minerals, gems, and mining history is the inspiration behind the museum. 

The museum holds the largest permanent collection of Maine minerals and gems. The entire collection of more than 20,000 minerals, gems, rocks, and fossils from around the world and meteorites form the extraordinary foundation upon which MMGM builds its education, exhibit and research programs.