Overview
Employees
11-50 employees
Category
Museums and Institutions
The High Desert Museum is a private, non-profit museum and wildlife center located in Bend, Oregon, open 362 days of the year. MISSION: Through exhibits, wildlife, and living history, the High Desert Museum creates learning experiences to help audiences discover their connection to the past, their role in the present, and their responsibility to the future. PURPOSE: To enable a deeper understanding of the region's arts, culture, history and natural sciences through the presentation and interpretation of visual art exhibits, historical artifacts, living history performances and wildlife encounters. HISTORY: Donald M. Kerr, a native of Portland, Oregon, founded the High Desert Museum out of a passion for natural history that began when he raised a wolf cub for his high school biology class. This experience inspired his lifelong interest in environmental issues and the lives of predatory animals. Out of the belief that we can make well-informed decisions if we understand all sides of an issue, he envisioned a new kind of museum that would show the close connections between people and their environment. "I've raised a wolf and two great horned owls," Kerr said. "I've been lucky to have these experiences that aren't possible for most people. I wanted to bring others closer to nature, to experience it, to learn to maintain it." Kerr's dream became a reality through the creation of the Western Natural History Institute in 1974, and its evolution into The Oregon High Desert Museum, which opened in Bend in 1982. To give it a greater regional role, the name became High Desert Museum. Today, the Museum remains true to his guiding principle that education and experience are the basis for thoughtful decisions and stewardship. HOURS OF OPERATION: Fall/Winter: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily, November 1 through April 30. (Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas) Spring/Summer: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, May 1 through October 31. (Closed July 4th)
