Home

Experience
Wonder
Visit Today
Learn More Frank S. Matsura: Portraits
from the Borderland
Explore Indigenous representation through Matsura's detailed photography
Learn More Patterns at Play:
Fractals in Nature
Are you ready to be mesmerized?

About the Museum

Plan Your Visit

Check out current exhibits and daily programs, find directions, rates, hours and more.

Kids & Families

Explore Together

Learn about kid-friendly exhibits, activities, camps 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

please select a datetime

  •  05.03.25
     9:00 am - 5:00 pm

The 2025 Kids Curate exhibition at the Museum, curated by fourth graders from La Pine Elementary, focuses on the diverse perspectives of fire — as an agricultural tool to a community threat to a natural process. Artist Jake Kenobi visited La Pine Elementary to share his techniques with the students. He assisted students in creating “studio (more…)

please select a datetime

  •  05.05.25
     7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

The High Desert boasts some of the darkest night skies in the continental United States. Increasing light pollution emanating from developed areas, however, threatens the health of both nocturnal wildlife and humans. One community is taking the lead in protecting Central Oregon’s dark skies: the City of Sisters. In the last year and a half, (more…)

please select a datetime

  •  05.08.25
     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 RSVP required. (more…)

please select a datetime

  •  05.10.25
     7:00 am - 9:00 am

The Museum provides an excellent habitat for migratory bird species. Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day by joining Museum staff and volunteers to explore the Museum grounds looking for warblers, raptors and other birds. Coffee and light breakfast items provided. Space is limited.  7:00 am – 9:00 am $25, Members receive 20% discount (more…)

please select a datetime

  •  05.17.25
     1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Join us for a celebration of Japanese American cultures. Featuring a performance by award-winning artist SORA Shodo, Ikebana workshops with Rachel Alm and paper crane making, this event will provide an opportunity to reflect and provide good wishes for the future. Hosted in partnership with the Japanese American Society of Central Oregon. 1:00 pm – (more…)

Changing
Exhibits

11.2.24 -
6.29.25

History

Blood, Sweat & Flannel

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 though the lens of the beloved fabric.

12.7.24 -
4.6.25

Art

Neighbors: Wildlife Paintings by Hilary Baker

Featuring more than one dozen contemporary works, accomplished painter Hilary Baker explores the complex relationship between manmade spaces and native wildlife. Highlighting iconic architecture and wildlife as both prominent and enigmatic, each work invites an encounter and raises questions about our own proximity to wildlife.

2.1.25 -
9.7.25

Art, History

Frank S. Matsura: Portraits from the Borderland

Featuring more than 30 large-format photos from the dawn of the 20th century, this exhibition showcases Frank S. Matsura's (1873-1913) masterful attention to detail photographing Indigenous families near his studio in Washington state's Okanagan County near the Canadian border. Matsura, a Japanese immigrant, connected with the Indigenous tribes in the cultural and geographic "borderland."

2.22.25 -
10.5.25

Science, Natural History

Patterns at Play: Fractals in Nature

Fractals are never-ending patterns that repeat the same shape at bigger and smaller scales. From mountain ranges and the galaxy to snow crystals and brain neurons, fractals big and small exist all around us. Step inside this fun, funky and family-friendly exhibit. You can learn to build a fractal, listen to the sound of sonic fractals, relax in a bean bag chair and watch an animation create new fractals right before your eyes. Are you ready to be mesmerized?

Spirit of
the West
Learn More Experience the vibrant history of the West as you explore its people, their challenges and successes. Permanent Exhibits
By Hand
Through Memory
Permanent Exhibits Discover the journey of the Plateau Indian Nations as they traveled from reservation confinement to the 21st century. Learn More
Miller Family
Ranch
Permanent Exhibits Living historians bring 1904 to life as they maintain the cabin, barn, willow corral and sawmill and care for their animals. Learn More
Donald M. Kerr
Birds of
Prey Center
Permanent Exhibits See some of nature’s most spectacular aerial predators up close: owls, hawks, eagles, falcons and vultures. Learn More
Autzen
Otter Exhibit
Permanent Exhibits Our three river otters define “play” in their newly-renovated exhibit. Learn More
Desertarium Permanent Exhibits View High Desert reptiles, amphibians, spiders and burrowing owls. Learn More Galleries Changing Exhibits Temporary exhibits on art, history, nature and culture. Learn More
IntroIntroIntroIntroIntroIntroIntro

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. 

+

+