Museum of Idaho, Science and history museum in Idaho Falls, United States.
The Museum of Idaho is a museum in Idaho Falls that features exhibitions on science, regional history, and how people and technology developed in this area. The galleries show permanent collections alongside rotating displays that cover different topics throughout the year.
The building began as a Carnegie library, funded by a $15,000 grant secured in 1913 by the Village Improvement Society and built between 1914 and 1916. It served as Idaho Falls' public library until 1977 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The Bonneville County Historical Society, formed in 1975, opened the Bonneville Museum there in 1985. In 2000 philanthropist Greg Carr offered the former Masonic Temple, and after a connecting atrium was built, the Museum of Idaho opened in 2003.
The museum's flagship exhibit, "Way Out West," includes a gallery on the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and a walkthrough of "Eagle Rock, USA," a recreated 19th-century frontier street from before Idaho Falls took its current name. The Marie Putnam Discovery Room lets children play in settings related to early settlers and natural history.
The museum occupies a complex of connected buildings in downtown Idaho Falls: the 1914–1916 Carnegie library, a former Masonic temple, and a two-story atrium linking them, plus a traveling exhibit hall, education center and lobby added in 2019. The archives are open to researchers by appointment, and archaeologists may submit proposals to study the Wasden Collection.
The museum has a simulated cave where visitors can explore and learn about wildlife, along with a reconstructed pioneer cabin and special activity backpacks designed for children. These interactive elements make the visit hands-on rather than just looking at displays behind glass.
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