The Museum of Natural and Cultural History

06/19/2026

We're closed Friday, June 19th in honor of Juneteenth! Oregon Black Pioneers writes that "Juneteenth is a time to remember the African Americans who experienced slavery in Oregon and across the United States. It's also a chance for us to recognize how far we’ve come in this country as well as the work we still have to do. We believe that begins by knowing where we come from and honoring the stories of our ancestors."

Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21 are your last chance to check out ReEnvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of our Black Ancestors by Jeremy Okai Davis. Stop by and learn some stories of Black pioneers in Oregon.

06/18/2026

University of Oregon students are employees, volunteers, and club members as well as visitors to the museum...and Alex is all of the above! Take a moment with us to celebrate a member of the Class of 2026!🎓

Alex Tidwell graduates with a Bachelor's in Anthropology. He's been all over the museum — a volunteer in our research labs as well as our public programs, a student employee field technician, an attendee of a summer field school, and a member of our student club. He earned a volunteer service award for over 100 volunteer hours in 2025.

We are wishing him the very best as he goes on to graduate school at Washington State University! 🎉🐘🦆

06/17/2026

University of Oregon students are employees, volunteers, and club members as well as visitors to the museum. Take a moment with us to celebrate a member of the Class of 2026!🎓

Claudia van Ek (pictured on the right) graduates with a Bachelor's in Anthropology and focus in archaeology. She has worked in museum collections for the last two years, contributing amazing and professional object photography, as well as upgrading our photo studio equipment. She has accessioned countless collections, processed several ethnographic gifts, and sewed mounts for the Aleutian kayak on exhibit. One important project has been cataloging a large collection of lithics from eastern Oregon. She won the museum's Undergraduate Research Award for her poster focusing on the analysis of a ~8400 year old hearth feature and botanical remains from Connley Caves, Oregon. She plans to attend the museum's Northern Great Basin Collaborative Archaeology field school this summer.

Congratulations, Claudia! 🎉🦆🐘

06/17/2026

Eugene!

Kids and tweens: Bee Amazed! Ages 5-12 are invited to catch the buzz with fun hands-on science led by educators from The Museum of Natural and Cultural History. Free! Choose from:
🐝Bethel Branch Library - Sat., June 20, 3 p.m.
🐝Downtown Library - Fri., July 17, 2 p.m.
🐝Sheldon Community Center - Thurs., Aug. 27, 2 p.m.
Did you know Oregon has more than 500 different kinds of bees. They're vital to our food supply and endlessly fascinating. Get to know these mighty mini-beasts: mason bees, cuckoo bees, mining bees, longhorn bees and of course, honeybees.
Eugene School District 4J Bethel School District Lane Education Service District Nearby Nature WREN in the West Eugene Wetlands Oregon State University Extension - Lane County

06/17/2026

🎓University of Oregon students are employees, volunteers, and club members as well as visitors to the museum. Take a moment with us to celebrate a member of the Class of 2026. 🎓

Becs Crook has worked in our Anthropological Collections for the last two years and is graduating with a Bachelor's in Anthropology. She received the Humanities Undergraduate Research Fellowship for her thesis titled "Native Displacement in Central California: Analysis of Mission Records at San Juan Bautista.”

Becs has accessioned archaeological collections for the museum, reconciled old records for past loans and legacy collections, photographed objects, assisted in preparations for the Aleutian kayak for exhibit, assisted in hosting visiting classes for object studies, created object mounts, and cleaned incoming ethnographic objects.

She is considering future schooling, either for a Master's in Archaeology or continuing on to law school.

🎉Congratulations, Becs, and thanks for being an all-around amazing person to work with!🎉

06/15/2026

💚💛✨🎓𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝑫𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒔! 🦆✨💛💚


Students are at the heart of everything we do at the museum, and that's especially true of our student employees, volunteers, and club members. Celebrate with us over the next few days as we highlight some of our graduating students.

To the class of 2026: amazing job. We are lucky to have known you, and we can't wait to see what you do next. 🦣✨

06/08/2026

This Pulalius vulgaris fossil shows off a crab that lived in the Oligocene - 23 to 33 million years ago! It was found near Keasey, Oregon.

06/03/2026

From a Civil War veteran to the editor of Oregon's largest Black newspaper, ReEnvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of our Black Ancestors illuminates the lives of some of Oregon's early Black residents.

This English/Spanish bilingual exhibition of ten portraits by artist Jeremy Okai Davis is presented by the Salem Art Association and closes Sunday, June 21.

05/30/2026

Checking in our Native Plant Courtyard! Spring blooms are finishing up and early summer flowers are beginning in earnest.

05/22/2026

The exhibit America at 250: Before, Between, Beyond explores the diverse histories represented in the museum's collections. This ink drawing on seal skin by Yupik artist Florence Napaaq Malewotkuk captures scenes from her daily life in 1943.