Current Exhibitions
Explore what's currently on view at the Interior Museum…
Thomas Moran & the "Big Picture"
Artist Thomas Moran’s panoramic masterpieces, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1872) and The Chasm of the Colorado (1873–1874), have returned to the Interior Museum for the first time in more than two decades. In capturing the natural beauty of Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, these monumental canvases shaped many people’s impressions of the American West and forever framed the discourse on public lands. Visit the Interior Museum’s newly-expanded gallery space to appreciate these iconic landscapes and learn more about how they are uniquely tied to the history of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
September 25, 2020 — ongoing
Size: 900 s.f.
Accessibility: Devices for listening to full audio descriptions of the exhibition are available to borrow for in-gallery use by contacting the museum. The two paintings have each been reproduced at one-quarter scale for tactile exploration and are also accompanied by a guided audio description.
Related content:
- Department of the Interior Press Release (April 28, 2022)
- 23:41 Video: Mindfulness with Moran guided meditation (March 2022)
- Follow #BigPicturesMorans on Twitter and Facebook
► 2:54 Video from Mammoth Hot Springs (July 21, 2021)
► 7:32 Video from the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (July 28, 2021) - #ColorOurCollections Coloring Book Pages (February 2022)
- #ColorOurCollections Coloring Book Pages (February 2021)
- Virtual Opening - Video Announcement from Secretary Bernhardt (September 25, 2020)
- Department of the Interior Press Release (September 25, 2020)
- DOI Blog Post (September 25, 2020)
- Recap of the Twitter Chat with Interior Museum's curator (September 25, 2020)
- Department of the Interior Press Release (March 9, 2020)
William Henry Jackson: A Visual Exploration of the American West
In August 1935, planners creating the Interior Museum turned to the 92-year-old venerated photographer and artist William Henry Jackson (1843–1942) to execute a set of four paintings to memorialize each of the "Great Surveys" of the American West (1867–1879). View Jackson's two large oil paintings depicting the Hayden and Powell Surveys and explore their fascinating backstories and connections to the U.S. Geological Survey.
September 25, 2020 — ongoing
Size: 62 s.f.
Related content:
- #ColorOurCollections Coloring Book Pages (February 2021)
People, Land & Water
This award-winning, state-of-art exhibition introduces audiences to the scope and influence of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Features of this visitor experience include more than 75 fascinating artifacts, an inspiring 14-minute film, and educational multimedia presentations to acquaint and actively engage the public with the Department's history, relevance, and current missions. A timeline, plus broad interpretive themes of discovering, protecting, contemporary cultures, and powering our future provide a framework for understanding the interconnectivity among the Department's bureaus, as well as the projects in which our 70,000 employees are engaged nationally and internationally. See just how much there is to learn about the "Department of Everything Else."
June 2017 — ongoing
Size: 700 s.f.
Accessibility: Devices for listening to full audio descriptions of the exhibition are available to borrow for in-gallery use by contacting the museum. The narrated film is open captioned and audio-described; additionally, visitors may borrow assistive listening devices for in-gallery use. Tactile elements are included throughout.
Related content:
- Recipient of the Society of the History in the Federal Government's 2019 John Wesley Powell Prize for outstanding achievement in the field of historical exhibition and interpretive products.
- #ColorOurCollections Coloring Book Pages (February 2021)