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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10.18.24
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Bend’s biggest little art show is back! The Museum is once again honored to host the year’s 20-Dollar Art Show, presented by Bright Place Gallery. Featuring over 4,000 pieces of original art by established and emerging local artists, this year’s show promises to be the biggest yet. As always, each mini masterpiece can be yours for (more…)
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10.21.24
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Exhibition closing! 20-Dollar Art Show (more…)
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10.24.24
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Light refreshments provided FREE for public, private and homeschool educators Made possible by With support from (more…)
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11.01.24
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Winter hours begin! The Museum will now be open daily 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. (more…)
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11.02.24
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Flannel is more than a fabric. Flannel shirts, jackets and undergarments have played an important role for laborers in the High Desert. Workers have donned flannel as they logged trees and roped cattle. Later, grunge counterculture adopted flannel as a nod to nonfashion. Blood, Sweat & Flannel explores the region’s labor history through the lens (more…)
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11.04.24
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
For 7 million years, beavers have shaped Oregon’s landscape. Beginning in the early 1800s, however, Euro-American fur trapping and eradication policies almost exterminated beavers from this region completely. Today, beaver populations are recovering thanks to land managers and nonprofit groups working to protect this species and their habitats. Please join Reese Mercer, Founder of the (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).
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.
