Museum of Idaho facts for kids
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| Established | 2003 |
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| Location | Idaho Falls, Idaho, United States |
| Type | history, science |
| Visitors | approx. 90,000 per year |
The Museum of Idaho (MOI) is an exciting place in Idaho Falls, Idaho. It's a museum where you can learn about the past and a science museum where you can explore amazing discoveries. The MOI shows off Idaho's history and nature, and it also brings in cool exhibits from all over the world. Its motto is "bringing the world to Idaho, and Idaho to the world."
The museum is a private group that doesn't aim to make a profit. It has about 12 full-time staff and 90 volunteers who help out. A group of 16 people guides the museum's work. Around 90,000 people visit the museum each year. You can also find a store there that sells books, fun educational toys, and souvenirs about Idaho and the museum's exhibits.
Contents
Museum History: How It Started
Early Beginnings: A Library and a Dream
The story of the Museum of Idaho began with a group called the Village Improvement Society. This club was started by women in Idaho Falls in 1898. They wanted to make their growing town more beautiful and cultured. In 1913, they received a special gift of $15,000 from the Carnegie Foundation. This money helped them build a public library.
The Carnegie library was built between 1914 and 1916. It served the town as a library until 1977. At the same time, the Bonneville County Historical Society (BCHS) formed in 1975. This group started showing old items in a small room in the courthouse in 1979. The BCHS worked hard to save the old library building from being torn down. They raised money to turn it into the Bonneville Museum, which opened in 1985.
The historic library building was recognized as important in 1984. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Growing Bigger: New Buildings and Ideas
In 1992, the BCHS bought land next to the Carnegie building. They knew they would need more space in the future. In 2000, a local helper named Greg Carr offered to give the BCHS another building. This building used to be a Masonic Temple. He offered it if the museum would also expand its goals. This meant bringing in traveling exhibits and showing more than just Bonneville County history.
A two-story connecting area was built between the old Carnegie building and the Masonic building. The new, larger museum opened in 2003. It was named the Museum of Idaho.
Since then, the museum has continued to grow. It offers many more educational programs. After raising more money, the museum expanded again. In 2019, it opened a new hall for traveling exhibits, an education center, and a new lobby. Then, the museum completely updated the Carnegie and connecting buildings. These reopened in 2021 with even more exhibits about Idaho.
Museum Collections and Exhibits
The Museum of Idaho has many amazing things to see. It has permanent collections that mostly focus on Idaho's history. These include items from archaeology (studying old human history), paleontology (studying fossils), and geology (studying rocks and the Earth). You can also learn about Idaho's native people and early settlers.
Museum staff create exhibits using these collections. The museum also holds the special Wasden Collection. This collection has thousands of objects and fossils. It includes remains of mammoths and other huge ancient animals. These were found at an archaeological site west of Idaho Falls.
Other cool things you can see include a life-size model of a Columbian mammoth. There's also a unique American flag from the American Revolutionary War. You can see the oldest English-language monument in the Northwest. Plus, there are pieces from early atomic energy research done nearby.
Way Out West: Idaho's Story
The museum's main permanent exhibit is called "Way Out West." It has seven different areas:
- Idaho Origins: Learn about early Idaho history and ancient fossils.
- Out of the Rocks: Explore Idaho's geology and how the land formed.
- Into Nature: Discover Idaho's plants and animals.
- People & Places: This section covers the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, trappers, miners, homesteaders, railroads, and farming.
- Regional Roots: Walk through "Eagle Rock, USA," a street from the 1800s frontier town that became Idaho Falls.
- A Complex State: See items about Idaho becoming a state and challenges like discrimination.
- Idaho Impact: Learn about Idaho's technology and how the state is seen by others.
The Marie Putnam Discovery Room is a fun place for kids. It has play areas related to early settlers and natural history.
Research and Archives: Digging Deeper
The museum actively collects old items, documents, and photos. It also gathers stories from people through an oral history project. These collections are open to the public and researchers by appointment. This means you can schedule a time to look at them.
Scientists who study old human history can also ask to research the museum's Wasden Collection.
Special Exhibits: Bringing the World to Idaho
Besides its Idaho exhibits, the museum hosts 1 to 3 special exhibits each year. These exhibits cover many different topics. Most of them are touring shows that travel from other museums around the country and the world.
Some past special exhibits include:
- A T-Rex Named Sue (2003, 2012)
- Columbian Mammoth (2003)
- Discovering Idaho: The World of Lewis and Clark (2004)
- The World of Giant Insects (2004)
- Space Journey (2005)
- Secrets of the Cave (2005)
- Savage Seas (2006)
- Guns & Hooks (2006)
- Ink & Blood: Dead Sea Scrolls to the King James Bible (2007)
- Ice Age Mammals (2007)
- World of the Pharaohs (2008)
- Wheels: Are We There Yet? (2009)
- Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition (2009)
- Lincoln: Preservation of a Nation (2009)
- Wolf to Woof: The Story of Dogs (2010)
- Decoding Da Vinci (2010)
- Bodies: The Exhibition (2011)
- A Grateful Nation: A Look Back at WWII (2011)
- King Tut: Treasures of the Tomb (2012)
- Carousels: Art and History in Motion (2013)
- Guitar: The Instrument that Rocked the World (2013)
- Race to the End of the Earth (2014)
- Glow: Living Lights (2014)
- CSI: Crime Scene Insects (2015)
- Real Pirates (2015)
- Hatching the Past: The Search for Dinosaur Eggs and Babies (2016)
- America’s Revolution: Rebels with a Cause (2016)
- Rome: Military Genius and Mighty Machines (2017)
- Space: A Journey to Our Future (2017)
- Dinosaurs in Motion (2018)
- Discover Steampunk (2018)
- Archimedes: Science and Innovations (2019)
- Darwin & Dinosaurs (2019–2020)
- Body Worlds: Animal Inside Out (2021)
- Genghis Khan (2022)
- Toytopia (2022)
- Dinos of the Deep
- Under the Canopy
Education and Fun Programs
The museum is a great place for learning outside of school. It welcomes school field trips from Idaho and nearby states. The museum also creates lesson plans and activities for teachers to use online.
During the summer, the museum holds camps. It also offers many programs and classes based on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and history. There are even classes for teachers that include trips into the Greater Yellowstone area.
For adults, the museum has monthly "Museum After Dark" events in the evenings. They also offer Haunted History Tours, special parties, and regular public talks. These talks cover topics in the humanities (like history and culture) and sciences.
See also
- Idaho Falls Public Library
