Center Sights - Exhibits

The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center features 12,000 square feet of galleries that transport visitors along the 2,000 mile journey of the Oregon Trail, with life-size trail dioramas, replica wagons, and authentic artifacts. Photographs, artwork and three short closed captioned videos tell the story of the pioneers and the political and social background of the westward migration. Quotes pulled from the diaries of Oregon Trail emigrants are interwoven through the exhibit, using the words of the pioneers to describe the trek west.

The permanent exhibit galleries takes visitors through the experiences of preparing for the journey, life on the trail, interaction between emigrants and natives, dangers and challenges, settlement and homesteading in Oregon.

NHOTIC also hosts changing exhibits in the 1,500 square foot Flagstaff Gallery, presenting exhibits that explore a variety of themes related to westward migration and settlement.

2012 Flagstaff Gallery Exhibit Schedule
Pack Your Wagon: Costumes, Critters and Curiosity
February 17th - May 28th
An interactive exhibit for younger visitors, with a full-scale "pack your wagon" activity, costumes, puppets, animal identification, and more.

Home! Sweet Homestead! The 150th Anniversary of Homestead Act
*June 7th - September 3rd
Discover the rich homesteading history of the West, and explore the many ways that we create and protect the places that we call home. The Homestead Act gave US Citizens the opportunity to lay claim to 160 acres of land, and provided the infrastructure for people to establish agricultural communities throughout the American West, offering new freedoms for those willing to work hard.
*A special traveling exhibit from the Homestead National Monument in Nebraska will be on display for three weeks, June 17th - July 7th.

Trails Through Time: Contemporary Photography Along the Oregon Trail
September 21st - November 12th
Tracing the Oregon Trail from beginning to end, this invitational exhibit asks photographers to reimagine the landscape and how pioneers might have captured their journey if they had todays cameras packed in their wagons.