The Museum of Geology has a long-term exhibition open to the public comprising a collection of minerals organised according to crystal chemical criteria, a collection of minerals illustrating some of the physical properties used as a diagnostic method for their identification (colour, streak, brilliance, hardness, fusibility, radioactivity), a collection of fossils representing the main periods in the History of the Earth, a collection of rocks ordered by category (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic, including tectonic structures resultant from stresses they have been subjected to) and a collection of rocks and ore from the main Portuguese mines. The long-term exhibition also includes a set of illustrative and explanatory modules and models of significant moments in the evolution of the Earth and Life, as well as some geological processes associated with this evolution.
In addition to the long-term exhibition, the Museum has a room for temporany exhibitions where displays on various themes are presented to the public, the result of partnerships established with Portuguese and foreign institutions.