The mission of the Science Mine is to provide a family fun environment to make, learn, invent, craft, recycle, build, think, play and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, science, and technology in our community.
Our goal is to encourage scientific literacy for all people by exploiting our natural inquisitiveness and love of play.
April 24, 2024
Join us on Wednesday, April 24th for our yearly fundraiser! Once again taking place at the Elks Lodge, we are hoping you'll join us for a night of trivia, games, prizes, and more. Contact Brandon to sign your team up (brandon@sciencemine.org) or give us a call. We look forward to seeing you!
December 1, 2023
The Science Mine will be open for the 2023 Holiday Stroll on Friday, December 1st, 2023, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Come on down, get out of the cold, and give your kids and yourselves a break. We are located at 36 East Granite Street in the sub-basement (two floors down) of the Sears Building in Butte, MT. We will have a no cost drawing for several door prizes and some refreshments.
September 16, 2023
The Science Mine will resume its regular (non-summer) hours on Saturaday, September 16th, 2023, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. We will be open most Saturdays from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm through May, 2024, when we will begin to transition to summer hours. For those Saturdays, usually near the holidays, when we are not open we will post that information on our facebook and web pages.
May 16, 2023
The Science Mine has a recycling account at Pacific Steel and Recycling, so if you have anything you would like to donate to our science center, we would greatly appreciate your support!!!
Located in the historic Sears Building, in the heart of Uptown Butte, the Science Mine provides hands-on, interactive exhibits that allow visitors, particularly children, to not only learn about scientific principles but to think critically and ask “what happens if”. What happens if I changed the length of the pendulum cord? What will be the effect if I spin the wheel faster; will the electrical current increase or decrease?
Sept 16th, 2023, to June 2024
Saturday: 10:00am-2:00pm
$5 per person or $15 per family.
$40 (valid for one year from date of purchase).
Group rate is a $50 facility fee plus $3 per child (we will accommodate groups or field trips during the week, please call or email to schedule a time).
$50 facility fee plus $3 per child (we are a great location for birthday parties).
The Science Mine has over 50 exhibits, and below you'll find a few examples. To discover all the exhibits that the Science Mine offers, click the button provided to learn more.
Discover More ExhibitsObserve a Tesla Coil ionizing air and the spark it generates.
Suspend a ball in a stream of air with the Bernoulli effect. Experiment with aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. Inflate a beach ball without blowing into it.
Play with stream behavior in the stream table, discover how to identify healthy rivers, explore the connection between ground and surface water.
Learn how to count in binary, tell time with a binary clock, and make calls with rotary phones.
If three cats can eat three mice in three minutes, how long does it take for 100 cats to eat 100 mice?
Three ants are at the corners of a triangle. The ants can only move along the edges of the triangle. The sides of the triangle are of equal length, i.e., it is an equilateral triangle. Each ant can independently and with equal probability decide to walk along the edges of the triangle in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. The ants walk at the same speed.
In taking a stroll along the edges, what is the chance or probability that the ants will not collide?
The Science Mine is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The current Board of Directors is comprised of the following members:
Dr. Cory Sonneman, President
Psychiatrist, Montana State Prison
Larry Driscoll, Vice President
Educator and Retired Superintendent at East Middle School
Marilyn Kujawa, Treasurer
Retired Nurse and Mid-Wife
Maria Brown, Secretary
Director of Laboratory Services, Saint James Hospital
Dr. Doug Coe
Emeritus Professor of Physical Chemistry,
Montana Technological Unviversity
Dr. Brian Evans
Senior Engineer, Biosqueeze, Inc.
Dr. Fred Hartline
Educator and Retired Physiologist
Patrick Kujawa
Retired Chemical Engineer
This year the Science Mine is employing Brandon Rubertus, VISTA, Volunteer in Service to America volunteer.
The Science Mine began in the 1990’s as a gleam or a dream in the eyes of a few individuals in Butte, Montana, where children could interactively play with and experience the wonders and sometimes counter-intuitive nature of the world around them. At the risk of omitting some of these early contributors, individuals who played a role in these early beginnings of the Science Mine include Patrick and Marilyn Kujawa, Andrea and Don Stierle, and Doug Coe.
A seminal moment in the history of the Science Mine occurred when Nick Kujawa (Patrick and Marilynn Kujawa’s son) renovated the historic Sear’s Building at 36th East Granite Street in Butte into a five story apartment complex that also included the rebirth of the former Hennessy Market on the first floor and the rental of approximately 10,000 square feet of space in the basement of this building that would provide a home for the Science Mine. The Science Mine opened its doors to the public in this space in 2011.
The Science Mine operates as a 501-3C non-profit registered with the State of Montana and is governed by a volunteer approximately ten member Board of Directors. Board of Directors might not be the most descriptive term as the “Board” oversees and actively engages in all of the activities of the Science Mine, including staffing the Science Mine when it is open, hosting birthday parties and school visits, building and maintaining exhibits, participating in community events and Saturday Markets, recruiting volunteers, writing grants, and constantly seeking sustainable funding. The Science Mine currently supports over 50 active experiences.
The Science Mine would not be what it is today without the help of many individuals and organizations who have contributed to its development. Again at the risk of omitting key contributors, individuals who have had and, in some cases, continue to have a significant influence on the Science Mine include Sarah Demoney, Americorp Volunteer Kelly Hancock, Ryan Munson, Dolores Cooney, Judy Cyr, Lois Podobnik, John Cummings, Colleen Elliot, Richelle Monson, Kevin Ball, Joel Graff, Ray LaTray, Eli Smith, Phil Curtiss, JoAnna Buchholz, Bev Hartline, Maureen Driscoll, Joe Kujawa, Ben Workman, VISTA Volunteer Allie Nawrocki, and the Current Science Mine Board members Brian Evans, Jackie Janosko, Patrick and Marilyn Kujawa, Natasha Chadwell, Fred Hartline, Larry Driscoll, Cory Sonnemann, Maria Brown, and Doug Coe.
Organizations who have supported the Science Mine include HeadFrame Spirits, Clark Fork Watershed Education Program, Montana Technological University, the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, the Butte Silver Bow School District, Northwestern Energy, Pioneer Technical Services Inc., Clearwater Credit Union, Community Counseling and Correction Services, Langlas Associates, and Butte Pediatric Dentistry, Butte Natural Resource Damage Restoration Council, and Superfund Advisory and Redevelopment Trust Authority.
For the Board, staff, and volunteers, the Science Mine is a labor of love. What keeps us going is being able to assist our curious, enthusiastic, and endlessly energetic young visitors as they explore the world through the experiences we provide.
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