Exhibits

Interested in a group tour of our exhibits? Learn more about Group Tours

Experience Oregon opening banner

Permanent Exhibit

Experience Oregon

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

Visitors of all ages, and from all parts of the world, come to the Oregon Historical Society each year to learn about Oregon. Whether you were born here, have chosen to make this place home, or are just passing through, it is undeniable that there is something special about this state. From its varied geography to its innovative legislation, Oregon is complex and distinctive, filled with people whose stories are the foundation of the state we see today. A dynamic educational space, Experience Oregon allows visitors to learn about the countless people, places, and events that have shaped this place.

  • Family-friendly
  • Free for Members
  • Teachers
  • Researchers
Children at Swan Island refugee center set up by the Red Cross after the Vanport Flood, 1948. OrHi 90661. Photographs: Portland - NE Neighborhoods - Vanport [graphic]; Photo file #1689-A; 1948/05

Permanent Exhibit

History Hub

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

History Hub is an exhibit where Oregon’s youth, students, and families can explore the topic of diversity through fun, hands-on interactives, objects, and pictures. History Hub is developed in partnership with an advisory committee of students, teachers, cultural organizations, and museums to tell the stories of people who live in Oregon, today and in the past. The content of History Hub spans grades K-12 with a focus on 4th – 8th grade.

  • Free for Members
  • Family-friendly
  • Teachers
Fight for Beaches Ralley Measure 6, Peter Frost, Cannon Beach, 1968. 207-A OrHI 91802

Permanent Exhibit

Oregon Voices

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205

Oregon Voices examines some of the important people, events, and ideas that have shaped the state in the modern era, from the end of World War II to the present. It features the people of Oregon, from Native Americans, who have lived here since time immemorial, to recent arrivals. It looks at Oregonians who have fought for and against social change. And it explores the land—how people have used it and how they have worked to save it.

  • Free for Members
  • Family-friendly
  • Teachers
Vanport flood recovery. bd001987

Permanent Exhibit

Vanport Interpretive Panels

Oregon Historical Society
1200 SW Park Ave
Portland, Oregon 97205

On Memorial Day in 1948, the Columbia River, swirling fifteen feet above normal, punched a hole in a railroad embankment that served as a dike, starting a flood that would leave 18,000 people homeless and alter race relations in Portland forever. This exhibit of four interpretive panels tells the story of what was once the second-largest city in Oregon.

  • Free for Members
  • Family-friendly
  • Teachers