There are plenty of things to do in Stardew Valley, and farming is only a small portion. This charming indie title encourages players to spend time with NPCs and discover hidden secrets. Players have the freedom to take a leisurely approach to their Stardew Valley playthrough, or approach their tasks in a structured way. While restoring the Community Center in Pelican Town is often the first set of tasks players will aim to complete, the Museum should not be neglected.
The Museum contains both a library and a gallery for displaying the various collectibles players can find. As players fill the library, Gunther will give them rewards, which can range from seeds to a key to the sewer. The biggest reward, though, is the Stardrop that players receive upon completing the collection. Stardrops permanently increase the player's maximum energy by 34 points. These fruits are rare to come by, so here are some tips to gaining that Museum restoration reward.
Updated by Michael Christopher on March 8, 2022: We've updated this list to add some more tips. Good luck completing the Museum collection!
9 Watch TV In The Morning
The television inside the player’s house is very often overlooked, especially early in the game. However, it can provide plenty of useful information that can make finding artifacts and gems easier. Players should watch The Fortune Teller every morning before beginning any tasks, as she will inform them of their Luck for that day. When she says that the spirits are "very happy," or "in a good mood," luck will be on the player's side.
The Luck stat affects multiple areas of the game, including drop rates of geodes, the appearance rate of gem nodes, and the chance of getting treasure, among many other things. Artifacts can often be found in Geodes and treasure chests, meaning players who want an advantage should search for those on days with increased luck.
8 Keep An Eye Out For Artifact Spots
Players may come across strange wiggling sticks protruding up from the ground while out exploring. These are actually Artifact Spots, where players can find Artifacts and Lost Books for the Museum. Since these can spawn almost anywhere at any time, players should always have the hoe in their inventory. This includes inside the Mines, as these spots can also appear there.
Artifact Spots have a pretty good chance to not despawn after a day, which means players have plenty of opportunities to find spots they may have missed the day before.
7 Fish For Treasure
While players are fishing, they may occasionally spy a treasure chest icon on their fishing bar, which they can pull up along with their catch. Treasure chests can be tricky to reel in, as the chest has a separate progress bar from any fish on the line. If a player loses the fish, they will also lose the treasure chest.
Having a Luck buff from food can increase the chance of finding a treasure chest, as well as the chance of special items and artifacts appearing inside. Players can also acquire the Treasure Hunter tackle from Willy's Fish Shop, which is available after reaching Fishing Level 7. The tackle prevents fish from escaping while collecting treasure chests, and also increases the chance to find treasure chests by 33%.
6 Explore The Mines
The town Mines and Skull Cavern are great places to find artifacts for the Museum, as is the Volcano on Ginger Island. Some floors have one or multiple dirt pits that can be easily overlooked. Players can use the hoe to dig up those pits and uncover artifacts. Gem nodes spawn in the various mines; players can mine these to collect the items for the Museum.
Geodes can also be found in the mines, or by mining stones around the map. Players can take these to Clint in the Blacksmith shop to open them, or open them at home with a Geode Crusher. They may contain minerals or artifacts that players can donate to the Museum.
Finally, monsters in these locations may also occasionally drop artifacts on defeat. This also applies to monsters that spawn on the Wilderness Farm and other in-game mines. The specific artifact depends on the monster, and chances for them to drop are fairly slim.
5 Artifact Troves
Similar to geodes, an Artifact Trove can be broken open at the blacksmith's (although not with a geode crusher). They will typically contain only artifacts; however, treasure chests and golden pumpkins may also be inside.
Players can purchase Artifact Troves from the Desert Trader for Omni Geodes. The troves can also drop from Haunted Skulls after completing the Vault Bundle. Those with access to the Dig Site on Ginger Island can find these by digging int he ground there, and anyone chose the Beach Farm layout can also find them in crates.
4 Dig Site
If the player completes the Community Center and fixes the boat at Willy’s Shop, they can gain access to Ginger Island. On the northern section of the island, players can find the Dig Site. The area can only be accessed after repairing the bridge using 10 golden walnuts.
The Dig Site is similar to the mountain quarry near Pelican Town. Players have a chance at finding rocks, Bone Nodes, Clay Nodes, and mahogany tree seeds every day. Bone Nodes can be broken open to find several prehistoric bones, some of which are needed for the Museum collection.
3 Enchant Your Tools At The Volcano Forge
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Stardew Valley's massive 1.5 update brought with it the new Volcano dungeon, at the top of which is an interesting new forge. Here, the player can do a number of things, including enchanting their tools with new effects. For the price of a Prismatic Shard and 20 Cinder Shards, a random enchantment can be added to tools. The player must pay again to reroll for another random enchantment if they don't like the one they get, unfortunately.
Some of these effects can really help with finding gems and artifacts for the Museum. Some examples include the following:
- Archaeologist: Hoe has a double chance of finding an artifact in an Artifact Spot
- Generous: Hoe has a 50% chance to find double items in an Artifact Spot
- Powerful: Pickaxe has an extra power level
2 Make Sure You're Digging In The Right Places
Players who have been digging up Artifact Spot they see and not finding that last missing artifact should take a short trip to the official Stardew Valley wiki. This is because it's not clear that some artifacts can only be found in certain places.
Some artifacts, while not exclusive to a location, can actually have higher chances of appearing in some places over others. One example is the Prehistoric Scapula, which has a 0.7% chance of appearing in an Artifact Spot in town, but a nice 3-6% chance in the Forest.
1 Choose The Right Professions
There are quite a few different Professions available across the five skills in the game, but some will be much more helpful in Museum completion. Even if one doesn't appeal to your playstyle, don't forget that you can swap Professions at the Statue of Uncertainty — even if temporarily while completing the Museum.
Some examples of Professions that help with Museum completion are as follows:
- Excavator gives a double chance of finding Geodes. This Professions is available to anyone who chose Geologist at Mining Level 5.
- Tracker says it shows arrows that point toward forageables, but the game doesn't tell you that it also shows the locations of Artifact Spots and panning spots. It's available at Foraging Level 10 if Gatherer was chosen at Level 5.
- Pirate doubles the chance of finding treasure while fishing. It's available at Fishing Level 10 on the Fisher branch.