How to Contribute to the Museum in Stardew Valley
Right at the beginning of Stardew Valley, players will encounter Gunther from the Museum who will ask for donations of rare artifacts to help enhance the museum’s collection. Similar to the idea of a museum in Animal Crossing, players must donate one of each item to complete the collection. As you complete the full collection, you will be rewarded with a Stardrop, which boosts your max energy permanently.
Understanding the Museum
The Museum is open from 8am to 6pm every day, excluding town festivals. It is situated in the town’s southeast corner, neighboring the Blacksmith. Inside you’ll find a vast array of books, where you can read any lost books you come across, and a display area where new donations are presented. To contribute an item, chat with Gunther who allows you to place donations wherever you prefer, with the option to relocate them later.
Gunther offers rewards at specific milestones, such as when you donate a total number of particular items, with distinct paths for Artifacts and Minerals. While most rewards are nice bonuses, some like getting the key to the sewers at 60 items, a Stardrop at 95 items, and the Dwarvish Translation Guide for donating all four Dwarvish Scrolls, are more significant.
Artifacts and Minerals
There are a variety of ways to acquire items for donation, depending on whether they fall under Artifacts or Minerals. In total, there are 95 items: 53 Minerals and 42 Artifacts.
Minerals are typically found through mining, although there are alternative methods to acquire them. For example, Gems can be obtained from their respective nodes, while foraged minerals like Quartz and Earth Crystal can be found in the mines or Skull Cavern. Geode Minerals can be obtained by cracking open geodes, with the Omni Geode providing the best chance to find rare minerals.
Acquiring Artifacts can be a bit trickier. Some can be dropped by monsters in the mines or appear when using a hoe on artifact spots around town. Others can be found in Artifact Troves or occasionally in fishing treasure chests. For exact probabilities of each item, refer to the Stardew Valley Wiki pages for Minerals and Artifacts.
It’s advisable to allow yourself to naturally come across most of the Artifacts and Minerals to complete the Museum. Once you’ve donated the majority, around 80 items, you can focus on farming for the ones you’re missing. Keep in mind that many of these items have a low drop rate, so finding them may ultimately depend on chance.