High Desert Museum Look book

imagine can you

CAMPUS PLAN VIEWBOOK

A NATIONAL TREASURE

The High Desert Museum is unparalleled —the only institution in the nation dedicated to the study of the High Desert region and the largest cultural institution in Central and Eastern Oregon.

Many have called us “the Smithsonian of the High Desert”—an art, culture, history and science museum all in one!

We do not simply keep and exhibit artifacts. True to the vision of our founder, Don Kerr, we strive every day to inspire wonder, support discovery, and encourage connection and dialogue.

2021 NATIONAL MEDAL FOR MUSEUM & LIBRARY SERVICE

The nation’s highest honor for museums that make exceptional contributions and demonstrate innovative approaches to community service.

support discovery, and encourage connection.

Inspire wonder,

THE

MUSEUM is based on an EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY that places at least as much EMPHASIS ON EXPERIENCE as it does on knowledge–that seeks to WILDLY EXCITE, RESPONSIBLY TEACH.

— High Desert Museum Founder Don Kerr

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: A barn owl swoops to a perch during the High Desert Museum’s signature outdoor flight summer program, Raptors of the Desert Sky; Museum founder Don Kerr believed that immersive experiences could inspire wonder, the gateway to learning; the High Desert Museum opened its doors in 1982 and today welcomes roughly 200,000 visitors a year.

RENOVATION OF EXISTING BUILDINGS

40 YEARS ofWONDER

As we enter our fifth decade, we have an opportunity to further fulfill the Museum’s mission and its role— locally and nationally. We will—

NEW CONSTRUCTION

for today’s visitors flagship spaces like By Hand Through Memory and the Desertarium.

a new, dedicated Art Wing and infuse the Museum space and programs with an array of art experiences.

Reimagine Create Establish

the Center for the High Desert—both a space and a commitment to catalyze greater dialogue and launch new projects and ideas.

HALL of PLATEAU INDIANS

The Museum cares for one of the most significant Plateau Indian collections in the nation with over 7,000 objects. We partner with Plateau Tribes on collaborative programs and connect visitors to contemporary Indigenous cultures.

The Hall of Plateau Indians—home to a remarkable and reimagined By Hand Through Memory exhibit—will enhance visitor access and appreciation of this exemplary collection.

engaging exhibits

The DESERTARIUM

Renovation of the beloved Desertarium—home to burrowing owls, tortoises and other High Desert species—will bring new life to this space that has delighted visitors for generations.

a new view

FOREST CANOPY WALK

One of the most anticipated outdoor experiences in our plan is the new Forest Canopy Walk—an elevated walkway that will provide a direct experience with the wonder of the forest. Imagine walking on a path as the forest floor falls away beneath you, leading into the upper reaches of the pines.

Visitors experience the forest from a new perspective at The Wild Center in upstate New York. A High Desert Museum canopy walk would bring visitors into the pines and would be accessible to all.

Photo courtesy of The Wild Center.

Innovative SPACES

Family Playscape

A large meadow play area will provide natural, interactive features and installations that will inspire children and their adult guests to explore the High Desert landscape.

1904 Miller Ranch

An expanded living history exhibit will bring more interactivity to the ranch and engage visitors with the diverse stories of the early 20th century in Central Oregon.

Sagebrush Steppe

A new 3-acre sagebrush steppe will bring visitors out of the forest and into the vastness of this unique High Desert ecoregion.

The CENTER for the HIGH DESERT

The Center for the High Desert will be the new nexus of activity where we leverage the Museum’s many partnerships and our power to convene—catalyzing greater regional and national dialogue and launching new projects and ideas. The Center will be the open, light-filled home of our new, flexible education and art spaces as well as a new hall for events and programs.

The ART WING

Our new Art Wing will be the only art space of its kind in Oregon east of the Cascades. It will be home to art experiences including works in our collection often not exhibited and contemporary installations.

The Wing will attract loans of artwork from other museums and—in an adjacent Collaboratory—will provide space for exploration and innovation, and also allow us to create traveling exhibitions to reach audiences in rural Oregon and across the nation.

The Art Wing will be the focal point for our Art Everywhere! approach to infusing our spaces and programs with access to and appreciation of art in all its forms.

art everywhere

The EDUCATION WING

To meet immense demand for our educational programs, our new Education Wing will more than double our capacity for our uniquely immersive educational experiences.

School children, families and lifelong learners alike will now have room in a variety of dynamic, innovative spaces to explore, experience and create.

Located between the new Art Wing and High Desert Hall, the Education Wing will also function as expansion space for both art programming and events like conferences, lectures and performances.

a place to gather

HIGH DESERT HALL

Our new, 14,400-square-foot hall and neighboring gathering space will provide flexible, technologically advanced space for programs and gatherings of all kinds and will be a valuable asset for all of Central Oregon. Lectures, performances, film screenings, conferences and workshops will all flourish in the High Desert Hall.

Gert the gray fox enjoys the snow at the High Desert Museum in 2021.