anniversary!
Wonder
greater purpose
Vision
The Museum requires face coverings indoors for all visitors, including children ages five and older. Thank you for helping keep our community healthy and safe!
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.
The Museum
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
-
01.25.22
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Come on an adventure! Children ages 3-5* and their caregivers investigate science, art, music, stories and culture in a fun, hands-on manner. Don backpacks filled with exciting objects while journeying through the Museum’s nature trails and exhibits. New themes weekly! Tuesday, January 25 Burrowing Beasts – canceled Why do some High Desert animals live (more…)
-
01.27.22
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
It’s spacious, warm and wondrous inside the High Desert Museum! Thursday, January 27 Adults $10, children ages 3-12 $6 Members always free! Join us after hours to see the latest exhibitions and enjoy a safe night out. Rimrock Café will be open for folks to grab a brew or bite. The Museum store, Silver Sage (more…)
-
01.28.22
5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Save the date for a celebration of the opening of Imagine a World. The exhibition considers the ambitions, intentions and outcomes of intentional communities in the High Desert and Western United States over the past half century. It highlights contemporary artists as well, sharing their visions of alternative worlds and futures. The exhibition invites (more…)
-
01.29.22
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
This exhibition considers the ambitions, intentions and outcomes (sometimes disastrous) of intentional communities in the High Desert and Western United States over the past half century. It highlights contemporary artists as well, sharing their visions of alternative worlds and futures. Imagine a World invites each of us to reflect on how we are. FREE (more…)
-
02.01.22
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Come on an adventure! Children ages 3-5* and their caregivers investigate science, art, music, stories and culture in a fun, hands-on manner. Don backpacks filled with exciting objects while journeying through the Museum’s nature trails and exhibits. New themes weekly! Tuesday, February 1 Junior Geologists – CLICK HERE TO BOOK NOW Why do volcanoes erupt? (more…)
-
02.03.22
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
It’s spacious, warm and wondrous inside the High Desert Museum! Thursday, February 3 Adults $10, children ages 3-12 $6 Members always free! Join us after hours to see the latest exhibitions and enjoy a safe night out. Rimrock Café will be open for folks to grab a brew or bite. The Museum store, Silver Sage (more…)
Changing
Exhibits
9.18.21 -
5.8.22
Natural History, Art
X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out
When many of us think of X-rays, we think of peering beneath the skin to detect an illness or injury. Imagine using the technology to see into vertebrates with the goal of learning evolutionary stories.
1.29.22 -
9.25.22
History, Art
Imagine a World
In the original exhibit, the Museum examines efforts over the decades to create ideal societies throughout the Western United States—from the glass domes of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 to the infamous Rajneeshpuram of “Wild, Wild Country.”
11.2.21 -
4.3.22
History, Art
Carrying Messages: Native Runners, Ancestral Homelands and Awakening
The exhibit highlights the historical significance of running in Native cultures in the Western United States and the ways that some Native people today are drawing on running as a means of empowerment, sovereignty and cultural revitalization.
the West
Through Memory
Ranch
Birds of
Prey Center
Otter Exhibit
