The Interior Museum is a museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 operated by the United States Department of the Interior

United States Department of the Interior

The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...

 and housed at the Department's headquarters

Headquarters

Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...

 at the Main Interior Building

Main Interior Building

The Main Interior Building, also known as the Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building, located in Washington, D.C., is the headquarters of the United States Department of the Interior....

 in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, on the first floor.

Opened in 1938, the museum's permanent exhibits are divided into galleries that focus on the work of the department's agencies, including the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

, Bureau of Indian Affairs

Bureau of Indian Affairs

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...

, Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

, Bureau of Reclamation, United States Fish and Wildlife Service

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...

 and United States Geological Survey

United States Geological Survey

The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...

.

A special feature are diorama

Diorama

The word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum...

s that display the work of these agencies, such as Coal Mine Explosion and Winter Use of the National Parks. One diorama depicts an aerial view of the plan of central Washington, D.C. from 1939.

Other exhibits include mineral and fossil specimens from federal lands. The museum's entrance area and other special display cases feature changing exhibits.

Because of the museum's location, all visitors must present a photo ID to enter. Admission is free.

Earlier this year, the Interior Museum closed for renovations. However, an art and architecture tour of the Main Interior Building

Main Interior Building

The Main Interior Building, also known as the Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building, located in Washington, D.C., is the headquarters of the United States Department of the Interior....

 is offered. The tour visits 26 photographic murals by Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams

Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park....

 and many of the over fifty mural panels throughout the building painted by artists such as Maynard Dixon

Maynard Dixon

Maynard Dixon was a 20th-century American artist whose body of work focused on the American West. He was married for a time to American photographer Dorothea Lange.-Biography:...

, Allan Houser

Allan Houser

Allan Capron Houser or Haozous a Chiricahua Apache sculptor from Oklahoma. He was one of the most renowned Native American painters and Modernist sculptors of the 20th century....

, Gifford Beal

Gifford Beal

Gifford Beal was an American artist noted for his work as a painter, watercolorist, printmaker and muralist.-Early life:Born in New York City, Gifford Beal was the youngest son in a family of six surviving children...

, and John Steuart Curry

John Steuart Curry

John Steuart Curry was an American painter whose career spanned from 1924 until his death. He was noted for his paintings depicting life in his home state, Kansas...

.
The Murals Tour is offered Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m. and Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. Reservations are required at least two weeks in advance.

External links

• Upcoming Public Programs at the Interior Museum