Joplin History and Mineral Museum

The Joplin History and Mineral Museum is an admission-charging museum of minerals, mining heritage, and local history. It is located in Schifferdecker Park on the west side of Joplin in the U.S. state of Missouri.[1] The current museum is a consolidation of the Dorothea B. Hoover Museum, a collection dedicated to Joplin history that opened in 1976, and the Everett J. Ritchie Tri-State Mineral Museum, a collection of geological specimens oriented towards the production rock formations of the Missouri–Kansas–Oklahoma Tri-State district. Historically, this area was noted for the production of zinc and lead, and the current Museum reflects this.[2] Adjacent to the museum is an open-air collection of historical mining equipment.

As of 2023, the museum stated they were undertaking a major project to refit the museum's outdated displays, some of which dated back to the 1970s. Displays include chained-down samples of lead ore, which museum visitors are invited to try to lift.[3]