Museum of Natural and Cultural History
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Museum of Natural and Cultural History
@uomnch.bsky.social
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Oregon's science and culture museum. Located on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon. State repository for archaeological and paleontological artifacts.
@mnch_uo on Instagram and @uo_mnch on TikTok.
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Museum of Natural and Cultural History @uomnch.bsky.social · Nov 15
We've put together a starter pack of official museum accounts on Bluesky! Who are we missing? go.bsky.app/Ko2Bvky
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The artist made this basket (probably in the early 1900s) using techniques the Klamath have been using for thousands of years! This basket is made from tule cordage, cattail, porcupine quill, and raffia. ❤ #indigenousart
A tan and beige woven basket against a black background. A dark brown heart is woven into the front. 
February 18, 2026 at 8:05 PM
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The lion dance is a tradition of Lunar New Year! The museum's 2025 opening reception for Roots and Resilience and this 1939 performance in Portland are just two examples of the long history of Chinese Americans in Oregon ushering in good luck and fortune. Happy Year of the Fire Horse!
A picture in color of lion dancers making their way through the museum's Explore Oregon exhibit. Delighted children watch. Photographer: Jack Liu A black and white photo of lion dancers on a street in Portland, Oregon. Two men watch. Image courtesy of Oregon Historical Society Research Library, bao18385.
February 18, 2026 at 12:54 AM
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🏛️🏺🧪MNCH and UNR researchers published a paper exploring the long history of sewing in the Great Basin. Archaeologist and lead author Richie Rosencrance gave an overview of the archaeology here: shorturl.at/81m72
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February 17, 2026 at 1:14 AM
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Celebrate #Oregon's birthday by nominating an organization or individual for the museum's stewardship award! It recognizes a project that involves the community in meaningful ways and aligns with the museum's mission to inspire stewardship of our past, present, and future. tiny.cc/6nxy001
February 14, 2026 at 12:15 PM
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Elizabeth Kallenbach has been named as a "Trailblazer" by the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology! Her research expands the ability to identify fibers, providing a more complete understanding of the plants people in the Great Basin and Oregon have used for more than 14,000 years.🧪🏺🏛️
Elizabeth smiles at the camera. She's wearing blue vinyl gloves and holding up a woven basket.  A screenshot of the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology. The article title is visible and reads "Elizabeth Kallenbach -Trailblazer" 
February 10, 2026 at 8:28 PM
uomnch.bsky.social
Close to Eugene? Join us next Thursday, February 12 at 6pm for a talk about how studying Oregon's tiny fossil rodents helps us prepare for the impacts of climate change. #fossilfriday 🧪🏛️
A stock photo of a cute little mouse peering over green grass. Text reads "The Past is the Key to the Future: Oregon's Fossil Rodents and the Impacts of Environmental Change; Thursday, February 12, 6:00 p.m. Humans’ impact on the environment is reshaping climates and landscapes. To understand these changes and guess at our future, we must look back to the deep past. Join paleontologist Samantha Hopkins as she explores how changes recorded in Oregon’s rich fossil record help us understand the ecological impacts of environmental change.    Included with regular admission; free for MNCH members and UO ID card holders. Show your Oregon Trail or other EBT card for an admission discount. "
February 6, 2026 at 10:54 PM
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Publication alert! New research from MNCH and University of Nevada, Reno analyzes the oldest-known sewn hide and fine bone needles, helping us better understand the complex lives of humans in Oregon's high desert 12,000 years ago. Read the paper here: shorturl.at/HX3E0 🧪🏺🏛️
February 5, 2026 at 11:46 PM
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Workers immigrating from China built many of the industries we consider quintessentially Oregonian: hop farming, seafood canning, gold mining, railroads. Our exhibit Roots and Resilience tells some of their story. Check out the online exhibit here: shorturl.at/vWxK8
A wooden box folds out into a bronze scale.  A case full of tea cups and bowl fragments.  A case with rusted pointy tools and a label reading "railroad spikes: Buck Rock Tunnel, Jackson County, 1880s"
February 4, 2026 at 10:16 AM
uomnch.bsky.social
Meet Louisa Sewell: One of Oregon's Black pioneers featured in ReEnvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of our Black Ancestors. Louisa moved to Canyon City in Grant County to live with her husband Columbus, a wealthy miner and businessman in 1868. #history #blackhistorymonth🧵
An old photograph of a young black woman sitting and holding a child. The pose is reminiscent of the classical Madonna and child pose. Louisa, the mother, is wearing a fitted dress with a flower pattern. Photo credit: Grant County Historical Museum.
February 4, 2026 at 12:13 AM
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Our opening night was incredible! Thank you to everyone that came out. 🎉 ReEnvisioned is now open! Come see the stories that are often left out of Oregon's history. These ten portraits will reshape how we remember Oregon's past.🖤✨

#universityoforegon #art #museum #oregonhistory #blackhistory
February 2, 2026 at 9:22 PM
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@uocas.bsky.social masters student and paleontologist Andy takes us behind the scenes to break down the tools she uses to work on Wally #paleosky #fossilfriday ⚒️🧰 🐋✨ 🧪🏛️
January 30, 2026 at 6:54 PM
uomnch.bsky.social
There are 17 Black Oregonian pioneers represented in ReEnvisioned: Contemporary Portraits of Our Black Ancestors. Join Mariah Rocker from @oregonblackpioneers.org on January 29 to meet the people behind the portraits. 🏛️
A graphic with a picture of Mariah Rocker and text reading "Black Pioneers Revealed: The Stories behind the ReEnvisioned Exhibit with Mariah Rocker from Oregon Black Pioneers. Thursday, January 29. 6:00 p.m." 
January 26, 2026 at 7:06 PM
uomnch.bsky.social
And here's what I was actually supposed to be doing today! Happy #MuseumSelfieDay from a staff that provided me with a lot of squirrel content!
Lauren takes a selfie with a shelving unit full of animal skulls and horns.  Robyn takes a landscape selfie in front of the mammoth sculptures on a beautiful sunny day. Emerald takes a selfie with Chris and Marlene in a laboratory. Jon, wearing a hard hat and high visibility gear, takes a selfie in the forest. Andrew stares at a squirrel skull resting on his fist. 
January 21, 2026 at 11:34 PM
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Listen y'all, I love squirrels so much and I dragged our entire staff into this #SquirrelAppreciationDay project so I have way too many pictures and thoughts for one post. 🧵incoming. 🏛️🧪
A sunny day in the museum courtyard. In the foreground is a curious squirrel perched on the armrest of a bench looking at the camera. The mother mammoth sculpture looms over it, and the squirrel's luscious fluffy tail follows the curve of the mammoth's trunk. 
January 21, 2026 at 8:35 PM
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Get ready for a brand new exhibit opening coming this weekend! Enjoy a quiet little sneak peek as our team works behind the scenes ✨🎧 Join us this Friday for the opening to come see it for yourself!

📍 Galleria
📅 Friday, January 16
⏰ 6:00 to 7:30 pm
January 13, 2026 at 7:23 PM
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@uoregon.bsky.social master's student and paleontologist Andy returns to show us more about preparing Wally for display! 🐋✨#paleosky #fossilfriday 🧪🏛️
January 9, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by Museum of Natural and Cultural History
opb.org
Recent investigations have linked Chinese Americans with more than 30 historic ranches in Eastern Oregon.

Read the full story here https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/07/eastern-oregon-chinese-cowboys-trail/ 
January 7, 2026 at 9:00 PM
uomnch.bsky.social
Transgressors closes Sunday, January 4! This exhibit, originally presented at Chachalu Tribal Museum and Cultural Center, showcases nine artists exploring the past, present, and future of Indigenous queer identity and is curated by Anthony Hudson and Felix Furby. #indigenousart #pnw
A close up of the black fabric introduction panel. The title "Transgressors" crosses the top of the panel in bright pink font, with a rainbow ribbon winding around it. Underneath the title is text reading "transgressor. noun. 1: someone or something that transgresses, going beyond a boundary or limit."  A wide view of the Transgressors exhibit. Black pillars with pictures of the artists and short bios are sprinkled throughout the space. Colorful woven corn by Geo Neptune and an illuminated box with art by Steph Littlebird are visible.  In the center of the frame is a black rectangle with pink text reading "What does a future with us in it look like? Everyone is encouraged to draw or write to add to the wall. Use this wall as a communal wish." The rectangle is surrounded by pieces of white paper, some with colorful drawings, some with text reflections. At least 15 pieces of paper are visible.
January 1, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Museum of Natural and Cultural History
smilodonichthys.bsky.social
Wally! I remember him from when we had him at Bill Sullivan's old place 😊 so glad he's being worked on again! NARG has meetings the first Wednesday of every month at the Tualatin Heritage Center in Tualatin, OR, from 6-9pm. Meetings are open to the public. There's a lecture & we share our fossils
December 29, 2025 at 10:37 PM
uomnch.bsky.social
Meet Wally the Whale, a fossilized whale skull currently being prepared for display. @uoregon.bsky.social student and paleontologist Andy Quintanilla is hard at work putting Wally back together again. #paleosky 🧪🏛️
December 29, 2025 at 5:37 PM
uomnch.bsky.social
Bring your family and come visit us this holiday season! We're open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. December 19-21, 27-28, and January 2-4, which will be the last weekend Transgressors is on view.
A graphic titled "Winter Holiday Hours" with the museum mammoth logo, except the mammoths are wearing a festive red scarf and hat set. 
December 19, 2025 at 12:18 AM
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Check out the newest addition to our entrance! Greg A. Robinson (Chinook), our 2025 Featured Contemporary Artist, crafted this power board. The lower figure represents a Tayi, a leader in Chinook clans, and the upper figure represents their tamanawas, or spirit power. #IndigenousArt
A portrait-mode photograph of a power board carved out of light beige wood. The board is hanging on one of the dark brown wood columns in front of the museum on the University of Oregon campus. Visible on the board is a face surrounded by geometric designs. Above that face is another face. 
December 13, 2025 at 1:45 AM
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Check out these photos from a 2020 excavation in downtown Eugene! This project revealed items from an early 1900s Chinese restaurant and gift shop owned by Wing Kee and Marie Westfall. You can see some of these artifacts in our exhibit Roots and Resilience.🏛️🏺
A porcelain shard on gravel next to a tape measure. The shard is about 3 inches long. It’s got a white porcelain background with red Chinese characters and part of the longevity pattern. This is right after archaeologists found the shard. A picture of the stratigraphy of the trench. Superimposed over the picture is text identifying each layer. On the top is “gravel from current project” and on the very bottom is “silty loam.” A wide shot of a trench in downtown Eugene. The trench is about w feet wide and 20 feet long, snaking through a gravel pit. Two archaeologists stand up to their ribcages in the trench, wearing bright orange tshirts and hard hats. Construction equipment is visible behind them.
December 9, 2025 at 6:34 PM
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Our exhibit Explore Oregon goes deep into Oregon’s past and joins a conversation about our collective future. Come visit our Ice Age skeletons!
A University of Oregon student looks closely at a cow vertebrae.
December 3, 2025 at 11:57 PM
uomnch.bsky.social
Heh heh...get it? "Dig in"? Cause it's an archaeology field school? 🏺

Ok that aside, making field school accessible to people who can't spend four weeks away from home was one of our main goals last summer and we're so thrilled it worked for this student. 🥲🧪🏛️
How Scholarships Help One Student “Dig in” to Her Future
For Carol Long, donor support made it possible to return to school, attend an archaeology field school, and pursue a career in forensic anthropology.
giving.uoregon.edu
December 1, 2025 at 10:46 PM