Table of Contents
- What Kinds of Things Can You Donate, and Where Can You Find Them?
- How to Donate to the Museum
- Why Donate to the Museum?
- Wrap Up
If you’re like me, one of the first things you did after moving to your farm in Stardew Valley was get to exploring the town. You’re supposed to meet all the townspeople, after all, so that’s where you’re likely to find them, right?
An exploration of the town will reveal a lot to you: a useful shop, a bar, a blacksmith, and a carpentry store where you can purchase upgrades to your home and farm. All these things have obvious functions.
But there’s one thing that doesn’t have as clear a use as the other town buildings: the museum. Sure, you can donate your archaeological finds, but why donate to the museum? How does it benefit you at all, when you can just sell the items for an immediate profit?
That’s a great question. I’ll be explaining to you here how to donate to the museum and why you should even bother doing it at all.
What Kinds of Things Can You Donate, and Where Can You Find Them?
Have you ever been to a museum before? Then you already know what kinds of things you can potentially donate to the museum in Stardew Valley: gemstones, rare ores, and the occasional artifact.
There’s a total of 95 items that you can donate. You’ll know if you can donate it by looking at the item in your inventory – it will say something to the effect of, “Gunther can tell you more about it if you donate it to the museum.”
Finding these possible donations is the tricky part. You can’t really guarantee you’re going to find them, as their appearance is seemingly random.
However, there are particular activities you can do that have the possibility of finding a donation item. Here are the places where you can potentially get one:
- Treasure chests that appear occasionally while fishing.
- Some rocks in the mines.
- Buried underground in tiles marked by worms.
How to Donate to the Museum
Okay, so we’ve established what sorts of items you can donate and where to find them. Assuming you’ve finally stumbled across something that you can donate, what next? What do you do with it?
Well, the first step is to go to the museum, which was pictured above in the previous section. Gunther waits behind in a desk that’s straight up from the door.
Simply walk up to Gunther, talk to him, and an option will come up to donate something if you have any items that can be donated. When you choose the option, you’ll be able to scroll through your inventory and select items that are eligible for donation.
Why Donate to the Museum in Stardew Valley?
Now for the good part: why should you bother donating to the museum in the first place? For many people, asking them to do something simply from the good of their heart isn’t usually a compelling argument, funnily enough.
There’s definitely something in it for you if you donate to the museum. Donating different numbers of items leads to various rewards, for one thing.
For example, once you’ve donated five items, you get some cauliflower seeds as a reward. The items get progressively better as you continue to donate, including home decorations and even a star drop once you’ve donated 95 items.
The big reward for me, though, is when you get to 60 items. At that point, Gunther gives you a key to the sewer, which actually leads to one of the coolest shops in the game, which is owned by Krobus (pictured above).
You get rewards for donating minerals and artifacts, too. These other rewards include things such as vases and decorative skeletons for your home.
So, if the advancement of the town’s museum isn’t enough to convince you to donate…well, do it for the rewards.
Wrap Up
Stardew Valley is a game you can easily sink hours upon hours of your life into. It’s so much more than just tending to your farm (although that’s certainly a huge part of it!) and staying on your own land.
There are mines to explore, places to fish, locals to meet, and of course, artifacts to discover. Along the way, donating to the museum here and there can enrich your experience. Not only does doing so have fun roleplaying elements, but you’re also rewarded for your generosity, too.
New to the game? Try taking a look at our list of the best crops to grow in the summer of your first year in Stardew Valley. We’ve also got a handy guide on what to do when your trees aren’t growing.