OKLAHOMA HISTORY CENTER (OHC)

The Oklahoma History Center was opened in 2005. It presents the history of Oklahoma from the pre-Columbian period (before the discoveries of Christopher Columbus) to the present day. It is divided into several permanent exhibition galleries, supplemented by temporary exhibition rooms. The collections include over 130,000 items ranging from sewing needles to cars and teepees. Some fragile or unique items are only shown through an online video series, From the Collection, which can be accessed through the History Center's website. We recommend that you allow a full day to visit this exciting museum.

On the first level

The Inasmuch Gallery focuses on the state's economic development divided into five periods and the history of the great entrepreneurs who put their names on Oklahoma.

The ONEOK Gallery showcases the 38 federally recognized American Indian tribes, with numerous artifacts, tribal music excerpts, photographs, Native American artworks and oral history broadcasts.

The Gaylord Special Exhibit Gallery highlights Oklahomans who played a role in the U.S. air and space program, as well as Oklahoma's early aviation pioneers. The centerpiece of this gallery is the Apollo Skylab 4 command module, which was operational from November 16, 1973 to February 8, 1974, for a total of 84 days in space.

On the second level

The Kerr-McGee Gallery is divided into several exhibits: the influence and recognition of African American culture in Oklahoma, the partial reconstruction of the steamboat Heroine that disappeared in 1838 in the Red River and was found in 1999, the history of oil and gas in Oklahoma, and American military history from 1830 to the present.

The Sam Noble Gallery illustrates the early history of Oklahoma, including its settlement and development as a state. Topics include the Land Run, education, the Oklahoma Centennial Farm & Ranch program, urban development, law and order, pioneer life, cowboys, and the Oklahoma Century Chest (a chest buried in a church in 1913 only to be reopened 100 years later with its messages and artifacts left for future generations). Also to be seen: the replica of a 1930's house and that of a 1950's kitchen.