By Kaitlin Miklos
If someone told you to open a museum without any artifacts, that would be arguably insane. And yet, what started as a one-room exhibit showcasing a collection of rocks found in the parking lot eventually turned into
Idaho’s largest science and history museum with world-class traveling exhibits. As the community celebrates the
Museum of Idaho’s 20th anniversary this year, I learned it all started with a flood and a group of volunteers who believed an old building on the brink of demolition could become a community phenomenon. For them, it came naturally.
Naturally, but not easily.
The Museum of Idaho as we know it today may have been born two decades ago, but efforts started decades before that. In 1985, the Bonneville County Historical Society (BCHS) garnered support to save the historic Carnegie Library in an effort to turn it into the community’s only historical museum. The library was built in 1916 and was left empty in the ’70s when the present building was built. The BCHS was victorious and work began on the new museum.
“This was just a hollow shell and it took us eight months of backbreaking work to get things set up,” former state representative and BCHS charter member Linden Bateman said. “We had to build cases, put down carpet, move walls — I lived in this museum for months at a time.”
This was a huge leap for the BCHS, considering where the museum started in the ’70s — a tiny room in the basement of the county courthouse, with zero artifacts. In fact, the crew borrowed whatever they could from anywhere and everywhere to fill the cases, including rocks from the parking lot and even their own kitchen cabinets.
In 1985, they opened the Bonneville Museum, and all was well until Christmas 1998. While everyone was sleeping off their Christmas Day festivities, an unwanted visitor seeped through the building. Volunteers were devastated the next day to discover the museum had flooded, and much was destroyed, including artifacts.
Luckily, philanthropist Greg Carr, caught wind of what was happening. At the time, he just so happened to be looking for a way to give back to the community.
In 2000, Carr made a monumental donation, launching new hopes for the museum as the new millennium kicked off. His donation included purchasing the Masonic Temple next door, and in 2001, construction started on the iconic, curved atrium with dramatic floor-to-ceiling windows, conjoining the two buildings.
Cue David Pennock, MOI’s first Executive Director, and Nick Gailey, MOI’s first programs director. In 2002, they launched the museum into yet another new era.
“I was in charge of the exhibits, marketing and promotions, public relations, the volunteers, and the store," Gailey said. “There wasn't anybody else. That was it. It’s hard to grasp opening a museum with three paid employees.”
In 2003, construction was finished and the Museum of Idaho was born.
As doors opened for the first time, A T.rex Named Sue greeted astonished guests who flocked in from across the region for this highly anticipated exhibit. Sue was just the beginning - MOI snowballed toward its goal, bringing in more than two decades and three dozen world-class traveling exhibits, along with renowned educational programs unique to the community. The community finally had a chance to experience other parts of the world they normally couldn't see.
On the corner of North Eastern Avenue, stood a building, a time capsule, catapulting guests into past centuries across the world.
Celebrating 20 years is more than an anniversary. We’re celebrating every volunteer who believed in this and never quit— every sigh of relief, bead of sweat, and long night.
Cheers to the past 20 years, and cheers to many more.
For more information on the museum, visit www.museumofidaho.org.