Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City

The Oklahoma History Center, opened in 2005, is a beautiful, still sparkling-new museum. State museums generally have a lot of ground to cover, and have to face the challenges of what to include and how to organize and display the wide range of available material.  Exhibits here range from the very popular "Another Hot Oklahoma Night: A Rock & Roll Exhibit" to exhibits on Oklahoma cartoonists, Native American tribes, kitchens, and aeronautics.


It's really a full-day experience, or perhaps a 2 half-day project.  For tourists trying to see everything in one several-hour visit, the range can be overwhelming.  I could have spent an entire visit in the arts and entertainment section, which started with the guitar display at the entrance and led to a full room on the rock/country exhibit "Another Hot Oklahoma Night," with a huge range of Oklahoma-based acts, including instruments, costumes, posters, and a section set up to look like a 70's college dorm room.  Life sized posters outside featured Woody Guthrie, Charlie Christian, and Bob Wills, and one of the first acts featured inside is Wanda Jackson,  reflecting the local Oklahoma influence on popular music. Newer music makes an appearance as well--The Flaming Lips are one of the modern bands with a presence here.


Broader cultural exhibits include an extensive walk-through the century section, with fashions and fads from the 20th century (I had forgotten all about the new-fangled Trimline phones of the 70s!) and samples of kitchen decor and appliances in bygone years.

A replica of the Winnie May highlights the aeronautics section, and provides a stunning foreground for a shot of the Oklahoma State Capitol.  There is also a cute little cafe here decorated with old-fashioned luggage--another memory trigger.  See if you can find the classic Samsonite design your parents took on their honeymoon!

Extensive historical exhibits on Oklahoma politics, African-Americans in Oklahoma, and Native American tribes could take several hours to absorb on their own.  And, like many other state museums, the History Center has exhibits on prominent native citizens in the military.  If you're traveling, then, you might want to consider either choosing an area and focusing your time (perhaps on one of the subjects you can't find in other museums) or allotting  a couple of 2-3 hour visits.  Give yourself time to look around outside as well; the exhibits continue with a scaled Red River path outside,and models of working oil derricks, reflecting the influence of the oil industry in Oklahoma's history.


The gift shop is definitely worth a look as well--a large selection of original, location-specific t-shirts, lots of children's gifts.

From the website:

Oklahoma History Center                                      Museum Hours             
800 Nazih Zuhdi Drive                                               Monday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105                                         Closed: Sundays, New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day
405-522-0765

Admission
Adults: $7
Seniors ( 62+): $5
Students: $4
Children (5 & Under): Free
Family: $18.00
Veterans and Active Duty Military: Free            OHS Members: Free
Group Rate (10+): $5 per person
Discounts for OMA, AAM, Time Travelers network, Smithsonian Institute and Affiliate Members

Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

The Oklahoma City Memorial shows just how wide the potential and purpose of the concept of "museum" can be.  Looking at the work and planning that went into this museum, we can also see how difficult it must be to put an event like the OKC bombing on display.

The Memorial Pool

The museum sits across from the public memorial--the black pool and the empty chairs.  Visitors are brought through a timeline of  the morning of the bombing, April 19, 1995.  Radio weathercasts and recollections of the early morning events and routine situate the visitor in the perspective of ordinary citizens before the bombing.  One exhibit re-creates a room where ordinary city business was being conducted, and plays a recording of the meeting that was taking place, complete with the sound of an explosion and shattering glass that interrupted it.  The rupture between the moments before the bomb and everything that has come after remains the dominant theme of the museum.  The pool sits between 2 markers, one representing the minute before the bombing, the other the minute afterward--with the pool itself as the enormous chasm between before and after.

Other exhibits cover the aftermath from various perspectives.  For example, a display of political cartoons recalls some of the reactions from across the country.  This exhibit also calls attention to the common assumption before Timothy McVeigh''s arrest that the bombing must have been a Muslim plot. As for McVeigh, pictures and a discussion of his trial and execution find just the right touch to convey information while avoiding sensationalism.  The focus stays on the victims, with personal artifacts recovered from the Murrah Building--eyeglasses, clothing, office equipment--and information on the fate of the owners. Several exhibits also commemorate those who helped, from first responders to those who worked with survivors to other cities and groups that offered support in the aftermath.  Visitors also have the opportunity to listen to the words of survivors and witnesses in private cubicles. 

One considerate touch--boxes of tissues placed discretely through many of the exhibits--showed how deeply visitors were affected.  Another welcome, considerate touch was the exhibit on Judge Alfred P. Murrah, for whom the building was named. 

Survivor Tree

The museum achieves at least two goals--memorializing the victims (and the pre-bombing version of OKC itself), and learning from the event.  The Survival Tree just outside the museum serves as a logo and symbol of the mission to provide comfort and hope.  The website recommends allowing 1 1/2 hours for the visit; I believe our visit was closer to 2 hours.  We had 10 and 12 year old children with us, which meant lots of explaining and questions. 

Info from the website:

620 N. Harvey, Oklahoma City
405.235.3313 888.542.HOPE

Open Mon-Sat 9:00-6:00
Sunday 1:00-6:00  (except Memorial Day-Labor Day--12:00-6:00)

Adult	$10
Senior (62+)	$8
Military (With ID)	$8
Student (6-17 or college student with current ID)	$8
Children (5 years and under)	Free