Visitors to the Oregon Historical Museum (OHS) are greeted by artifacts such as native footwear and traditional boats and practices from Indigenous tribes throughout Oregon. As visitors progress, the exhibits teach how the mountains were formed, how humans arrived and how the interactions between so many people from various backgrounds created the state we now call Oregon.
OHS is home to both permanent and temporary exhibits. Two permanent exhibits include “Experience Oregon”, about the history of Oregon and the “Rivers, Roses and Rip City” exhibit about the history of Portland.
Rachel Randles, the chief of Marketing and Communications for OHS, is responsible for managing the OHS brand. Randles says the museum is intentional about connecting with high school students.
“…we often will have programming that is targeted more towards middle and high school aged, youth and students because that seems to be an audience that connects well with the content that we have at OHS, [especially] when we’re talking about the history of Oregon and our state, as well as how the history does relate to what’s going on in the present,” said Randles
Lincoln history teacher Dr. Rebecca Eisenberg has been a presenter at OHS and has attended a few of OHS’s workshops for educators.
“They have really cool exhibits that are very interactive and localised,” said Eisenberg. “So they’ll take national historical issues and show you how they impacted the local Portland and Oregon region.
Randles said OHS has worked hard to make students comfortable and interested in visiting the museum, through efforts such as competitions aimed at high school students and travelling exhibitions, such as an exhibit on transgender history.
“I just think that coming to a museum is such a powerful experience, both coming visiting the museum and the research library. I want to make sure students feel that this is a place for them,” said Randles, “I think sometimes, museums and sometimes cultural institutions can feel, you know, not welcoming, and I think that we’ve tried really hard to make sure that this is a space where everyone who comes through our doors feels welcome.”
