When the High Desert Museum opened in 1982, founder Don Kerr had a lofty vision for the destination he’d long dreamed of. The campus nestled in the forest south of Bend would create experiences to inspire awe, curiosity and wonder in visitors, which would in turn stimulate learning and stewardship about the unique high desert landscape and the creatures that call it home. “It amazes me that he thought of this so long ago,” said High Desert Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw. “The responsibility I carry is to further this mission and vision, and to make sure that the next 40 years of visitors will continue to have these powerful experiences.”
During its 44-year run, the Museum has seen many periods of development. This spring, leaders embarked on the latest endeavor to grow the 135-acre, indoor/outdoor facility — a $40 million campus expansion that will create a new 24,000-square-foot wing to include new classrooms, expanded gallery space and event and gathering spaces. The improvements will allow the facilities to “catch up to the programming,” said Whitelaw. With visitation steadily on the rise and programming growing to meet demand, the Museum has outgrown many of its spaces. “At their core, museums are educational organizations,” said Whitelaw. “The expansion will mean that we can be a museum and also hold large-scale events, host more interactive programming and lead workshops in flexible indoor/outdoor classrooms.”
While planned improvements will serve many museum needs, Whitelaw said that the impetus for the expansion sprang from one primary motivator. “This all came from conversations about a desire to renovate ‘By Hand Through Memory,’” she said. The exhibit interpreting plateau indigenous culture opened in 1999 and features the Doris Swayze Bounds collection, considered one of the most meaningful collections of its kind in the nation. “It was always the intention to tell the contemporary stories of regional indigenous cultures through this exhibit,” said Whitelaw. “The stories are different after 25 years, and there is a new generation of storytellers to tell them. Understanding of how visitors learn has evolved, as well.”
In 2019, the Museum convened an advisory group consisting of plateau indigenous community members and scholars of the region to begin reimagining the interpretation of the Bounds collection and revising exhibits. That group has met regularly to discuss relevant topics and means of storytelling. Some of that work has already made its way to the walls of the Museum, in temporary displays inviting interactive public feedback. “We’ve created a test lab for content that will better align with our goals and not reinforce stereotypes,” said Whitelaw. “We want visitors to feel a sense of welcome and belonging, to see their stories being told, and to listen to others’ stories.”
The newly imagined space will include dynamic exhibits, with rotating objects, mini exhibitions and changing collections. The redesigned primary exhibit will serve as the anchor to the wing, with event and art gallery spaces providing the means to deepen the conversation. One space, called the Gathering, was crafted to support a new Museum initiative called the High Desert Project. Small groups meet multiple times over a shared topic, for instance, wolves or water, to foster connection and dialogue. “The museum was always a place to learn about regional topics in order to deepen the dialogue, to create conversation, to be good neighbors, and to make more thoughtful decisions,” said Whitelaw.
Last year, changes in national policy resulted in the Museum seeing eight out of nine previously awarded federal grants terminated. As some of those decisions have been challenged in the courts, several of the Museum’s grants have been reinstated, mostly for special projects but with some funds for the expansion. To date, the Museum has raised 87% of its goal for the expansion through a combination of government grants, private foundations and individual giving. “The Museum is overwhelmingly supported by the community, with both affection and dollars,” said Whitelaw. “We need places like museums even more than ever now, to create shared learning experiences and to be enveloped by humanity. It’s a critical part of staying connected, as individuals, regions, communities, and a nation.”
High Desert Museum
Daily 9am-5pm
59800 S Hwy 97, Bend
highdesertmuseum.org/
This article appears in the Source July 2, 2026.
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