The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is a private, non-profit museum in Portland, Oregon that showcases natural history and industrial technologies specific to the region. It is funded by admission fees, donations, and memberships. The museum offers interactive learning environments and educational opportunities for visitors of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. It has undergone numerous transformations and incarnations since its establishment in 1906.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is located in Portland, Oregon on the east bank of the Willamette River. Encompassing more than 18 acres (72,843.4 m2) of land and buildings, the museum houses examples of natural history and advances in industrial technologies specific to the Oregon region dating back to the 19th century. John Cyprian Stevens is credited with creating interest and campaigning for the museum to be established, beginning in 1999. As a private, non-profit museum, OMSI’s mission is to serve as a resource center to encourage public awareness and appreciation for science and technology education topics.
Funding for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry comes from admission and membership fees, as well as public and private donations. No state funding is used to operate, maintain, or otherwise fund museum exhibits, events, or other expenses. In fact, the land on which the new museum opened in 1992 was donated by Portland General Electric. Originally home to an old power plant, the museum’s design incorporates the smokestack and other elements of the old power plant, contrasting old industrial technologies with new ones. Turbine Hall, a permanent part of the museum’s design and exhibit collection, highlights the original turbines used in the old power plant.
The exhibits and features of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry offer visitors educational opportunities and interactive learning environments focused on a variety of science and technology topics. Rooms dedicated to earth and life sciences; items donated by organizations such as US Navy planetariums; and other exhibitions attract more than a million visitors each year. Events, courses and other attractions are aimed at children, young people and adults as well as the general public. Offsite community outreach and education programs seek to engage residents and visitors from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, cultures, and interests.
Once nothing more than a small collection of natural history artifacts displayed in Portland’s City Hall, the museum has undergone numerous transformations and incarnations. Stevens campaigned successfully and saw the City Hall Museum established in 1906, the first official incarnation of the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Over the years, as interest and private funding increased, plans for the Portland Museum of Natural History began, but were interrupted by the Great Depression and World War II. With the establishment of the Oregon Museum Foundation in 1944, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, as it is known today, began to take shape.
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