1680 East 15th Ave.
Eugene, OR 97403
541-346-3024 mnh@uoregon.edu
Breaking New Ground
Breaking New Ground - Our landmark expansion
After more than a decade of careful planning, the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History is undertaking a major expansion. Currently a new collections center (phase 1) is rapidly rising just east of the museum. Phase 2, a new display area, will dramatically increase space for exhibits and public programs, and phase 3 will add a research wing.
This three-stage expansion will:
Bring all of the State of Oregon's ever-growing collections of important findings on public lands—which have grown to occupy parts of several buildings on campus—to one central location
Create the ideal environment for preserving fragile, irreplaceable items
Transform the old collections vault into a new exhibit hall showcasing the amazing geology and natural history of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
Gather the museum's laboratories—currently scattered among eleven buildings on or near campus—into a new anthropological research wing
Provide increased public access to the museum's holdings
Ensure the museum's ability to serve its partners and the public well into the future.
We invite you to be part of this exciting time of growth!
To make an online donation
to the museum or help fund one of our expansion phases, visit the
UO foundation(link opens in new browser window or tab)
or contact Patricia Krier at pkrier@uoregon.edu
or (541) 346-5089. Be sure to designate your gift for the Museum
of Natural and Cultural History.
Learn
more about this landmark expansion!
Phase
1: New Collections Center and Public Galleria ($2.8 million, public/private
sources, funded)
A major federal
highway-spending bill authorized by Congress in 2005 provides $2.17
million for an urgently needed curation center for tons of artifacts
and specimens that currently are stored in a variety of buildings
under less than optimal conditions. Special features include precision
climate control and ultra-compact storage vaults with ample space
to accommodate ongoing additions to the museum's collections.
Phase 2: New Exhibit Hall ($2 million, private gifts, fundraising underway)
We have the opportunity to double the museum's display space by transforming the old collections vault into an exhibit hall devoted to the geology and natural history of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. No other facility has such extensive collections of artifacts and specimens unique to this region. With help from private donors, this long-needed facility will make our region's amazing heritage accessible, providing insights relevant to the history and behavior of us all.
"We are the official keeper and interpreter of the Oregon story. We offer a gift from the past to the future."—UO President Dave Frohnmayer
Phase 3: New Archaeological Research Wing ($4.75 million, public/private sources)
Our museum's world-renowned researchers are overturning long-held beliefs about human habitation in our region and many other important areas around the globe. However, most of our fifty staff members are scattered among "temporary" quarters all over campus. Bringing them together into modern research facilities in the new museum complex will open up new possibilities for synergy – and efficiency—that will take research, teaching, and public programs to the next level.
