Regional History Museum Past Exhibits
Skiers in Flight: The History of Ski Jumping in Sun Valley
January 2022 – May 2023
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History presented a new exhibit on the history of ski jumping in Sun Valley. Visit the Museum in Forest Service Park to see historic photos of ski jumpers and learn how Alf Engen and others shaped the sport … and Sun Valley.
Looking Baaa-ck: The History of Sheep Ranching in the Wood River Valley
September 29, 2021 – May 2023
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
Celebrating the history of sheep ranching and sheepherding in the immediate surrounding area is the focus of this new exhibit. Learn about the ranching traditions of this prominent agricultural story. Explore the seasonal cycle of raising lambs. More here.
Ernest Hemingway: At Home in Idaho
September 6, 2016 – May 2023
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
Exploring the history of Ernest Hemingway and his time spent in Idaho, this exhibit focuses on his friendships with locals of the Wood River Valley. View artifacts, including a typewriter and communications from Hemingway, and historical images from his trips and life in Sun Valley. More here.
Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame
2010 – May 2023
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
The Sun Valley Winter Sports Hall of Fame is a program which honors the significant contributions of legendary local athletes and visionaries who have not only achieved in their sport or industry, but have given back to the Wood River Valley community in ways that have furthered the development of the sport: Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing, Ice Hockey, Figure Skating, Snowboarding, and Freestyle Skiing. More here.
Rugged Glamour: A History of Early Sun Valley Promotions
June 25,2021 – December 2021
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
Rugged Glamour tells the story of the early Sun Valley marketing machine, headed up by Steve Hannagan Associates. He was the one who came up with the name “Sun Valley” to promote the image that it is always sunny in Sun Valley even in the dead of winter. Curated by Kelley Moulton. More here.
Rink Report: Ice Skating in Sun Valley
November 12, 2020 – January 30, 2021
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
The exhibit explores the history of the ice skating tradition at Sun Valley and some of the local luminaries who performed. The Sun Valley rink is legendary as an outdoor rink. The level and beauty of the skating that began in the early resort days laid the foundation for high entertainment, professional allure, and recreation.
The Flows: Hidden Wonders of Craters of the Moon
July 29, 2020 – June 5, 2021
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
On loan from the Idaho Museum of Natural History Idaho Bound Traveling Exhibits program, the exhibit shares the stark beauty of one of Idaho’s most unique landscapes with poetry from Will Peterson and and photographs by Roger Boe, both based in Pocatello, Idaho. The pictures and words are a spiritual response to one of the American West’s unusual places.
High Country News: Chronicler of the West
July 29 – September 30, 2020
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
A traveling exhibit on loan from the Autry Museum of the American West. The exhibit examines the important cultural, social, and environmental issues of the U.S. West covered by High County News in celebration of the newspaper’s 50th anniversary.
Railroad Ties: Tracking the History of Sun Valley
July 10, 2014 – June 2021
Regional History Museum in Forest Service Park
The exhibit celebrates the arrival of the railroad into Ketchum, Idaho, in 1884, and the economic, social, and cultural impacts of the railroad on the the Wood River Valley from the 19th century to the present.
Library Foyer Past Exhibits
Summer Games | Local Heroes
Summer 2024
Library Foyer
This exhibit celebrated the achievements of local athletes who participated in the Olympic Summer Games. Summer Games | Local Heroes featured stories and memorabilia from eleven Olympians connected to the Wood River Valley. Commemorative pins from various Olympic games – on loan from collector Chuck Jones – were also on display.
Winter Read: “The Great Gatsby”
January – June 2024
Library Foyer
Every winter, we read a story together. Set in the Jazz Age a hundred years ago, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby explores themes of class and wealth, industrialization and change. Artifacts in this exhibit showcase items and clothing from this period of extravagance.
Museum Reads
July – December 2023
Library Foyer
The new exhibits at the Wood River Museum of History and Culture are illuminated in collections of books curated by our librarians. Topics include Sun Valley history, Bald Mountain, Native American tribes, Ernest Hemingway, and geology of the Wood River Valley. Check out a book/s and pick up a free bookmark and recommended reading list.
Las Catrinas: A Celebration of Mexican Culture
February 2023 – Spring 2023
Library Foyer
“Las Catrinas” featured the delightful papier-mâché art of Carlos Lecanda. Crafted with intricate detail and expert technique, the exhibit showcased a variety of traditional characters with an exclusive art piece inspired by the 2023 Winter Read, Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s Sabrina & Corina: Stories.
Dale Chihuly: Blanket Cylinders 1975 – 2016
July 2022 – January 2023
Library Foyer
With this work, Dale Chihuly aims to convey his appreciation and respect for the histories, cultures, and arts of the Indigenous tribes of North America, and to recognize the influence of Native cultures on contemporary arts.
Creating and Conserving the Idaho Constitution
May – June 2022
Library Foyer
This Library Foyer exhibit reveals the the multi-year conservation effort and the history of Idaho’s Constitutional Convention during the summer of 1889.
Reel Legends: Fly-fisherwomen of the Wood River Valley
January – April 2022
Library Foyer
This exhibit celebrated the great fly-fishing tradition in the Wood River Valley as seen through they eyes of four women who have earned the badge of Reel Legends on our local waters. Part of the Library’s Winter Read, featuring Norman MacLean’s A River Suns Through It.
Charles Dickens Classic Tales
November 2021 – January 2022
Library Foyer
“Darkness is cheap. And Scrooge liked it.”
A rare collection of early editions of Dickens’ classic works. The Library exhibit includes volumes and prints that will delight all ages. . .from tiny books that could be hidden in a gentleman’s vest pocket, to serial magazine pamphlets in which books were released chapter-by-chapter and mailed to anxiously waiting readers all over the world.
How, When, and Where to Find Us
Wood River Museum of History and Culture
Open July 6, 2023
580 Fourth Street East, Suite 130, Ketchum, Idaho 83340
Entry to the Museum is FREE.
Sunday | closed |
Monday | closed |
Tuesday | 10:00am - 6:00pm |
Wednesday | 10:00am - 6:00pm |
Thursday | 10:00am - 6:00pm |
Friday | 10:00am - 6:00pm |
Saturday | 10:00am - 6:00pm |
The Jeanne Rodger Lane Center for Regional History
415 Spruce Avenue N. Ketchum, Idaho 83340
CONTACT
208-726-8118 | Email us here.