 | | Yakima Valley Museum offers historical exhibits on the Yakima Valley-its natural history, American Indian culture, pioneer life, early city life, and the roots and development of the Valley's fruit industry. The museum has a collection of horse-drawn vehicles, from stagecoach to hearse; a historical exhibit and reconstruction of the Washington D.C. office of former Yakima resident and environmentalist, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas; and a changing schedule of special exhibitions. There are over 38,000 objects in the collections at the Yakima Valley Museum and over 40,000 documents and photographs in the Archives and Research Library. The Yakima Valley Museum has an extensive collection of American Indian art, crafts, and artifacts, focusing especially on the tribes and bands of the nearby Yakama Nation Indian Reservation and neighboring cultures of the plateau region. Many rare examples of beadwork, basketry, woven bags, par fleches, costume, and other objects can be seen throughout the exhibitions, illustrating stories of history, home life, and subsistence technology. The museum houses one of the largest collections of wagons, carriages, and early motorized vehicles west of the Mississippi. These unique vehicles can be seen throughout the exhibitions, illustrating social and technological development of the region. The museum's collection of clothing and costume spans two centuries-a constantly growing selection of over 10,000 garments and clothing accessories provide an authentic record of work and leisure clothes, as well as high-style fashion, ethnic costume, and special event and ritual garments. A collection of orchard equipment and related agricultural objects traces the history of agriculture in the Valley, from the earliest irrigated gardens planted by the Yakama Indians to the modern tree fruit and produce industry that has made the Yakima Valley the "fruitbowl of the nation." Collections of historic tools, appliances, furniture, and household items document Yakima Valley's material culture from the mid-19th century to the present. The museum's collection of natural history specimens contains taxidermy mounts of regional wildlife, geology and botany specimens, and fossil evidence of past environments and animal life in the region. A growing collection of artwork by regional artists, past and present, offers a view of the Valley as seen through the eyes of the artist. The Yakima Valley Museum is also the repository for the personal belongings of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas-controversial statesman, prolific writer, environmentalist, and native of Yakima. The exhibits at the Yakima Valley Museum focus on the natural landscape of the Yakima Valley and how different people have made their homes here. The core museum exhibits tell stories of how humans have interacted with the natural environment of the Yakima Valley and made use of its varied resources, from the subsistence technologies of the earliest native cultures to the irrigation-driven agribusiness of today's Valley life. The home life and cultural practices of the diverse Valley population is described and illustrated in exhibits that share the experience of traditional and Reservation Era Yakama Indian life, the challenges of the earliest European-American settlers, and the many diverse waves of past and present pioneers that continue to immigrate to the Yakima Valley. Exhibits also show the many networks of trade, communication, and transportation that sustain the lives and businesses of the people of the Valley. At the center of these core exhibits is a celebration of what Yakima Is, containing the Neon Garden, a collection of neon advertising art from Yakima Valley's past. |
| |  | | | Facilities: Yakima Valley Museum provides a gift shop and soda fountain. Reservations: Reservations are accepted for Yakima Valley Museum. Best Time To Visit: Yakima Valley Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Fees: A admission fee is charged. Accessibility: Unknown Rules: Children must be supervised while at the museum. Directions: To reach Yakima Valley Museum from Yakima, take south 2nd St toward east Yakima Ave. Follow it for 1 mile. Turn left onto east Yakima Ave. Follow it for 7 miles. Turn right onto Sunnitview Ave. Follow it for 1 mile. Turn left to stay on Summitview Ave. Follow it for 5 miles. Turn left onto north 16th Ave. Follow it for 5 miles. Turn right onto Tieton Dr. Follow it for 3 miles. End at 2105 Tieton Dr Yakima, WA 98902-3766, US. | | |
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| | | | Address | | Yakima Valley Museum | | 2105 Tieton Drive | | Yakima, Washington 98902 |
| | | Phone | | General: (509) 248-0747 | | Fax: (509) 453-4890 | |
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