Experience Oregon

Visitors of all ages, and from all parts of the world, come to the Oregon Historical Society each year to learn about Oregon. Whether you were born here, have chosen to make this place home, or are just passing through, it is undeniable that there is something special about this state. From its varied geography to its innovative legislation, Oregon is complex and distinctive, filled with people whose stories are the foundation of the state we see today.

Experience Oregon is a new 7,000 square foot permanent exhibition that is the cornerstone of our museum. A dynamic educational space, Experience Oregon allows visitors to learn about the countless people, places, and events that have shaped this place. Over three years in the making, developing Experience Oregon has truly been a collaborative undertaking. Oregon Historical Society staff, trustees, and volunteers; Oregon Tribes; educators; content specialists; historians; community members; and multiple design firms from across the country have contributed their talents to create this exhibition.

Visitors enter Experience Oregon through a panoramic theater that introduces major themes and sets the stage for the exhibit. Land and water are two the most pervasive topics covered throughout the exhibit, displaying the diversity of Oregon’s landscape, as well as people’s historical and ongoing relationships with its resources. Interactive stations throughout the exhibition include a “Stories from the Archives” tablet game, a canoe-building exercise, a covered-wagon replica visitors can walk through, role-playing games that allow visitors to take sides in historical debates, listening wands that bring to visitors voices from the past, and opportunities to offer ideas and opinions on relevant themes. As visitors leave the exhibit, they can create a memory blanket as a digital “takeaway” using photographs and artifacts, as well as Pendleton blanket designs, to help recall favorite moments from the exhibit.

“Across Time” stations throughout the exhibit use broad themes such as home, water, and land to draw connections between yesterday and today. Experience Oregon’s design continually directs visitors back to the present, emphasizing why learning about history matters.

We have scoured our collections to display artifacts from across the state’s geography and history – some on exhibit for the first time. All of the artifacts on display in Experience Oregon are from the Oregon Historical Society museum collection, and our research library preserves the vast majority of the archival materials on view. Experience Oregon would be impossible without the countless Oregonians who, for over a century, have turned to OHS to preserve their histories.

Did you create a “Memory Blanket” at the end of your visit to Experience Oregon? View, download, or share your blanket here.