About the Museum
Plan Your Visit
Check out current exhibits and daily programs, find directions, rates, hours and more.
Education
Teach & Learn
Lifelong learning starts here! Explore teacher trainings, memorable field trips and unique school programs.
Join the HDM Family
Make an Impact
Volunteer, become a member or donate to support arts, education, wildlife and more.
Wildlife, History & Art
Otters, porcupines, owls, oh my! Encounter wildlife up close, explore the history and culture of the wild West and take in beautiful art. The High Desert Museum is a cultural gem set on 135 acres of awe. It’s no wonder visitors voted us one of the best things to do in Bend Oregon!
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events
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04.18.24
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Silver Sage Trading Closed for Inventory (more…)
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04.20.24
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Near, Far, Gone raises awareness of the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act and the wildlife it protects. The selected works by Ann Hamilton, Matthew Day Jackson, Wangechi Mutu and Kiki Smith explore animal influence and remind visitors to examine our role as stewards of this world. With support form (more…)
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04.25.24
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Photo courtesy of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center From founding Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center in Joseph to curating the traveling exhibition Timber Culture, Gwendolyn Trice invites Oregonians to explore history often ignored. Learn more about Maxville’s historic Black logging community and Gwen’s work to preserve and share their stories. 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Doors (more…)
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05.01.24
11:55 pm
Calling all emerging, mid-career and established nonfiction writers! Don’t miss your opportunity to submit your writing to the Waterston Desert Writing Prize. The Prize honors creative nonfiction that illustrates artistic excellence, sensitivity to place and desert literacy, with the desert as both subject and setting. The Prize winner receives a $3,000 cash award and a (more…)
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05.02.24
5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
A quieter time for children and adults who experience physical, intellectual and/or social disabilities to enjoy the High Desert Museum after hours. Explore the Museum’s newest exhibitions and revisit your favorites. Sensory packs are available to borrow with headphones, fidgets and more. 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm FREE for individuals, friends and family With support (more…)
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05.04.24
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Join our wildlife team to learn about and photograph the wildlife in our care. Experienced photographers will be available to assist participants with camera techniques for portrait-style and action photography opportunities with raptors and mammals. Participants are welcome to explore the fundamentals of their equipment during a (more…)
Changing
Exhibits
3.2.24 -
1.12.25
Art, History
Sensing Sasquatch
Native peoples of the Plateau have long known about, encountered, depicted and told stories about Sasquatch. Sensing Sasquatch explores Sasquatch’s past, present and future in the High Desert region through an Indigenous lens. Works by five Indigenous artists will be on view, including: Phillip Cash Cash, Ph.D. (Nez Perce, Cayuse), HollyAnna CougarTracks DeCoteau Littlebull (Yakama, Nez Perce, Cayuse, Cree), Charlene “Tillie” Moody (Warm Springs), Frank Buffalo Hyde (Nez Perce, Onondaga) and Rocky LaRock (Salish).
1.13.24 -
4.28.24
Photography, Art, History
Timber Culture
Timber Culture is a traveling exhibition curated by the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center. It tells the story of Maxville—a segregated logging town that boomed in Oregon’s Wallowa County during the 1920s and 1930s. The exhibition’s historical images document the lives of the town’s 400 residents and explore stories of race, labor and leisure. Both candid and documentary, the exhibition provides a glimpse into an essential part of Oregon’s history.
12.8.23 -
4.7.24
Photography, Art, History
Andy Warhol's Endangered Species: From the Collections of Jordan Schnitzer and his Family Foundation
Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species will showcase the Pop Art icon’s complete Endangered Species series (1983), as well as select works from Warhol’s Skull series, Vanishing Animals series and one of Warhol’s iconic Marilyn Monroe works. The Endangered Species portfolio was commissioned by art dealers Ronald and Frayda Feldman of the Ronald Feldman Gallery in New York City in 1983, 10 years after the Endangered Species Act was signed into law. This exhibition is a key component in the Museum’s yearlong recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.
11.11.23 -
7.7.24
History
Endangered in the High Desert
It’s been 50 years since Congress passed the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a law that aims to protect vulnerable species from extinction. The ESA is often associated with the 1990 listing of the northern spotted owl. But there are other species in the High Desert, some lesser known, that face the threat of extinction, including the whitebark pine, the pygmy rabbit and the Oregon spotted frog. Visit the Museum’s new exhibit Endangered in the High Desert to explore the past, present and future of this region’s endangered species.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services named the High Desert Museum as one of six recipients of the 2021 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities.
The Museum was recognized for providing dynamic programming and services through community outreach, working to create programs that offer rich educational programming and expand museum access.
