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World Museum of Mining

Where History Tells a Story

Exhibits & Mine Tours in Butte, Montana

Museum and Underground Tours

2023 season starts April 1 weather permitting.

Staff are still available during the winter season. Please call 406-723-7211.

Underground tours may be available during the winter closure.
Minimum $125.00 for up to 6 people.
Each additional person $25.00.
Guests need to contact the Museum at least 72 hours in advance.
Tours are dependent on tour guide availability, weather and snow amounts on Museum grounds.
(Offer good until March 15)

As much as the staff loves to see your fur babies, animals are not permitted on the Museum grounds. Service animals are welcome.

Reviewers Call It a "Must-See" In Butte, MT!

Very informative; great time!

I went on the 100 ft tour and learned so much! First, I toured the ‘town’ and enjoyed looking in the various establishments. Then, I went on the 100 ft. Tour, which was well worth the cost and a lot of fun! I think this would be a great tour for late elementary/middle school kids (although I did not have my kids with me).

– Jenny S. | TripAdvisor
Love mining history!!!

We took a tour of the orphan girl mine 100 ft down. Fabulous! Very safe and so fascinating to see how the miners worked back then. Our guide was Tony, a 7th grade social studies teacher who was so knowledgeable and fun on the tour. We were so impressed and learned so much. After the tour we spent the day on the grounds touring the massive headframe, shops set up like a little mining town and looking at old mining equipment. It is worth seeing. Great gift shop as well.

– Traci N. | TripAdvisor
Mine tour and replica town

I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this experience. For the price it was well worth it. I took the 100ft tour so went down the mine to the second level; definitely worth it since you get the 65ft portion as well. The tour guide was very informative and made it interesting. Even without the mine tour I though the recreated town and actual mine site self-guided tour was wonderful. Worth seeing if in Butte.

– Dewayne P. | TripAdvisor
Very large exhibit and alot of history

We stopped here to take a tour of the Museum and a tour of the mine. The museum has a lot to see, a replica old mining town, cars, mining equipment and exhibits, and mining tower / shaft that you can actually go inside. We took one of two tours and thoroughly enjoyed it. The guide was very knowledgeable and explained things as we went two stories down on a walking tour. Great tour.

– Michael G. | TripAdvisor
Excellent Unique Experience

This visit was a highlight of our trip out west. After a week in Yellowstone and Glacier Nat. Park, we were heading to our flight from Bozeman and almost passed Butte by. So glad we didn’t! How many opportunities do you get to go down an actual mine and hear a great narrative about the history of mining in this area? Fascinating stuff! Our wonderful guide is a grandson/great grandson of miners who now teaches school here. You can only envy his students as his enthusiasm and expert knowledge we’re marvelous.

– N H | TripAdvisor
A must see if you are in Butte!!

This has been my second time going through this museum and I found so many things that I missed on my last visit. Having more time on this trip I was able to stop and read in detail items that were displayed explaining the hardships the mines endured. What a wonderful museum to share with the young and old. So much history here.

– 63019GBN | TripAdvisor
Orphan Girl Mine Yard
First National Bank in Hell Roarin' Gulch

Mission of the Museum

The mission of the World Museum of Mining is to preserve the rich historical legacy of mining and the related culture of Butte, Montana, and the surrounding region and to promote the significant mining heritage by educating the public with a perspective toward total family interest.

We are funded in part by coal severance taxes paid based upon coal mined in Montana and deposited in Montana’s cultural and aesthetic projects trust fund.

Our History

The World Museum of Mining was founded in 1963 when the close of Butte’s mining heyday was less than two decades away. In the end, Butte experienced a century of hard-rock mining and earned the reputation of being home to one of the world’s most productive copper mines of all time. The Museum exists to preserve the enduring history of Butte and the legacy of its rich mining and cultural heritage.

The World Museum of Mining is one of the few museums in the world located on an actual mine yard, the Orphan Girl Mine. With 50 exhibit buildings, countless artifacts, and 66 primary exhibits in the mine yard, visitors can spend a couple of hours to an entire day lost in the unfolding story.

By walking the streets of Hell Roarin’ Gulch and venturing to the depths of the Orphan Girl Mine, you can almost see their blackened faces and hear their exhausted sighs at the conclusion of the workday.