Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History — Attraction in Caldwell

This museum on the College of Idaho campus is a crucial educational resource for a region that extends beyond southwestern Oregon, into Oregon and Nevada.

You’ll find it in the basement of Boone Hall, entering a repository of specimens for archaeology, entomology, ornithology, invertebrates, molluscs, gems & minerals, Egyptology and fossils, all labelled and accompanied by interpretive info.

The College of Idaho has conducted extensive research in the Mexican state of Baja California, so there’s an impressive array of insect specimens from this part of the world.

Other standout collections cover Native American ethnography, modern Idaho fish, artifacts from Ancient Egypt and Rome and...

Found in the basement of this campus building. There is an elevator and ramp at the SE corner of the building. The museum is in the basement of the SE corner. Upon entering there is a collection of taxidermied animals to the South wall and a wall of museum items to purchase including rocks and t-shirts. Down a hall there is an insect display area, a native American display, a bird display area, and a prehistoric area. On the west of the hall is displayed gemstones in spheres. In a north room branching off the hall is a room with cross sections of petrified wood, rock specimens and fossils. No wait to enter. Remember it...

Awesome free museum with an inexpensive gift shop. Love how they made it kid friendly with special touch zones and everything else behind glass. Good lighting and neat collections of insects and of gems and minerals. A bit tricky to get into as the doors to the building were locked during the summer....