Story is a part of life in how we exist and make meaning. Lucky for us, Central Oregon is home to a number of museums that hold history, science, and nature in deepening our understanding of the world and our experience of wonder. Spring is a great time to delve into some of the regional museums, many of which also offer outdoor spaces, educational events, and research libraries, to inform our lives of co-creation of the past and today.
The Museum at Warm Springs
Constructed from local stone, wood, and brick, the museum sits next to Shi-tike Creek and welcomes visitors into the natural surroundings. Inside, exhibitions create a place to learn from the history, culture, and traditions of the people that comprise the Confederated Tribes at Warm Springs through permanent and rotating exhibits, such as a ranching and rodeo life collection opening this summer.
Deschutes Historical Museum
Nestled in downtown Bend between Bond and Wall streets resides a space run by the Deschutes County Historical Society in the old Reed School building. Caring for more than 75,000 physical and digital items, the museum opens into the far and recent past through exhibitions that represent different local communities. Current exhibits include information about mountain biking, tourism, and what it was like to work, live, and play in Deschutes County.
A.R. Bowman Memorial Museum
Housed in the Crook County Bank building originally constructed in 1911, Prineville’s historic museum relays Central Oregon heritage including a refurbished caboose, a recreation of the Belknap House, and a pioneer cabin located in Pioneer Park. The museum, operated by the Crook County Historical Society, includes immersive information about early pioneer life and the ranching, logging, and railroad industries.
Fort Rock Homestead Village Museum
Visitors navigate through original homestead buildings transferred from surrounding areas and run by the Fort Rock Valley Historical Society. In the space of sagebrush and sky, time seems to collapse while wandering through buildings more than a hundred years old that embody a school, church, homes, store, and more.
High Desert Museum
Offering an understanding of the past and life in the High Desert, the Smithsonian affiliate museum can be experienced in many pathways such as outdoor trails, saying hello to the otters, witnessing life at a sawmill and ranch in the summer, and strolling through time in the Spirit of the West exhibition. The space also provides birds of prey encounters and a new outdoor park featuring a large-scale life cycle of the ponderosa pine tree. Traveling exhibits, such as Patterns at Play: Fractals in Nature, completes an interactive visit to the museum.
Petersen Rock Garden Museum
A locally iconic Central Oregon attraction, the rock garden first opened in the 1930s by Rasmus Christian Petersen after his move from Denmark. New owners have re-envisioned the space while caretaking history of the rock sculptures and resident peacocks, opening the 4-acre site between Bend and Redmond once more to visitors for self-guided tours.
Sisters Museum
A two-room building in Sisters maintained by the Three Sisters Historical Society presents background information about 12 ranches and farms in the area. Photographs from the 1920s to mid-19th century are also on display.
This article appears in Source Weekly May 8, 2025.
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