Two days at the Special Events Center for $16
The Tampa Bay Mineral and Science Club runs its 67th Annual Fall Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8, 2026. The show fills the Special Events Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Hwy 301 N, Tampa, FL 33610.
Admission costs $8 for adults. Seniors and military personnel pay $7 with ID. Kids 12 and under enter free. Two adults and two children come to $16 at the door.
Saturday runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
What a staff family gets for the ticket
Over 60 vendors sell slabs, cabochons, beads, gemstones and jewelry. The club runs a kids area with a sluice, a touch table for rock identification, a scavenger hunt, a mineral ID booth and a bean bag toss with prizes. The hall is indoor and air-conditioned. A concession stand sells lunch and refreshments, and an ATM sits on site.
The Special Events Center holds 40,000 square feet under 25-foot ceilings. A folding acoustical wall divides the room into a 15,000 square foot section and a 24,000 square foot section.
A Saturday-to-Sunday plan
Saturday carries nine hours of show time. Sunday carries seven. Split the two days across the kids area and the dealer floor.
Start Saturday at 9 a.m. at the sluice and the touch table while the hall is quiet. Walk the vendor floor after lunch. The mineral ID booth takes a rock the kids bring from home.
Start Sunday at 10 a.m. Finish the scavenger hunt and the bean bag toss. Leave by 5 p.m.
Eight adults pay $64 for one entry. Eight seniors or military ticket holders pay $56. Two adults with two children pay $16.
The parking ticket and the gate
Parking costs $10 bought online and $12 at the gate. The fairgrounds parking portal sells a product named Gem & Mineral - Parking Only for November 7 and 8, 2026. Its listing reads one time entry, enter through MLK, general parking $10.00. The portal states that parking does not include event entry.
Vehicles enter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd at Gate 3. From I-4 eastbound take Exit #5 for MLK Blvd and SR 574 West, turn right off the ramp, pass the Orient Road light and turn left into the entrance. From I-75 take Exit #260 and head west on MLK for 2.5 miles.
The fairgrounds lists three entrances: U.S. Hwy 301, MLK Blvd and Orient Road. The Special Events Center sits at the MLK Blvd entrance, Gate 3. A vehicle with a disabled parking plate or hangtag parks on the grounds under the fairgrounds rule.
A bed 0.2 miles from the gate
Seven hotel partners sit on the fairgrounds trip-planning page with published distances. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa Fairgrounds Casino is 0.2 miles away and describes itself as directly across the street. Wyndham Garden Tampa Fairgrounds/Casino sits 1.5 miles out, opened in 2025 and offers free parking. Staybridge Suites is 2.7 miles, Hilton Garden Inn 2.8, Courtyard 4.4, Cambria 5 and Hampton Inn & Suites 5.0.
Staybridge Suites rooms carry full kitchens. A family weekend with a fridge for lunch works from that.
The fairgrounds runs its own camping for area events, with pet-friendly sites and electric hook-ups. Reservations open 48 hours ahead and are paid online. An RV family pays one site fee for the weekend.
bookMyTeam lists 175 hotels in Tampa on its city directory. Group rates start at 10 or more rooms per night, with some properties quoting from 5. One request reaches 50+ hotels and returns offers within 24 to 72 hours. The platform publishes a band of 15-40% below rack rates and no markup on the room rate.
What the pages leave open
The fairgrounds sells parking online and publishes no advance admission link for this show. Plan to pay admission at the door and confirm the accepted payment method with the Tampa Bay Mineral and Science Club.
The show page publishes no concession prices, no re-entry rule and no two-day pass. Put three questions to the club before a staff group commits: the door payment methods, whether one admission covers both days, and whether ten or more adults buy at a block rate.
Florida requests
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