Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education — Attraction in Portland

First off, I LOVE museums and spend a lot of time exploring them so I feel like I've got a pretty good "museum meter," if there was such a measurement tool. Sadly, our experience was underwhelming and, more accurately, a serious bummer.

I'll start with the good:

-I appreciated that they dove into some of Oregon original laws designed to keep non-white people from owing land or even LIVING in Oregon. Hate comes in all shapes and sizes and the museum showed how our laws supported discrimination and hate. Antisemitism comes hand in hand with the KKK and then some. Oregon history is painful!

In the history area, they featured a broad exploration of how and why Jewish people came to the U.S. In general, our society thinks of WWII as the catalyst for Jewish immigration, but there were SO many people in the late 1800s and early 1900s and earlier fleeing Russia for similar reasons (including my family). This museum got it right in focusing on other kinds of stories of people traveling to the U.S. for refuge and safety. I really appreciated the variety.

Here's what puzzled and disappointed me:

-We chose to visit the museum ON Holocaust Remembrance Day (which I believe is observed internationally... it's a big deal!!!). Given October's terrorist attack in Israel, I figured there might be some kind of special presentation, but there wasn't anything special happening at all. Nothing; not even a sign acknowledging the day.

I wanted to plan our visit carefully because we had limited time (2 hours, which is too short for a museum nerd like me). The website was not helpful. I had hoped for a list of exhibits, a map of the space, etc... Nothing.

We stepped up to the counter to pay for entrance and were greeted with a vibe-killer. :( The man taking payments was not at all friendly or welcoming; he barely made eye contact, if at all. Forget a smile! Too much work? I was excited to be there - this guy squashed my enthusiasm.

If that wasn't bad enough, I asked if there was a map of the museum or a some kind of guide to the exhibits. Nothing. So, I asked if maybe there was a QR code to link to a digital map (many places are doing away with paper maps/brochures, understandably). I realize that's not HIS fault. That responsibility is on the museum. But the look I got from him left me feeling dumb for asking for guidance.

So, for a visitor's tip... If you like to travel through a museum via timeline, DEFINITELY go upstairs first. Then come back down to the room where they visit modern day issues and action. It's a good follow up to the past.

To the museum... Get better info online so people can truly plan their visit.

Imagine a visitor never having been there and wondering what to expect and how to plan their time. Give them a guide of the museum through a brochure or QR code map. Many museums have a guide for how much time a person has, or if they're interested in specific things (history vs. art). Give people information on what’s there and where to find it.

Choose your front facing staff with care. The security guard was awesome! Honestly, he should be behind the counter welcoming people. And the guy behind the counter should have been in the uniform properly intimidating people.

Maybe my expectations were too high? I've heard Holocaust survivors speak in-person, including the late Alter Wiener, a long time Portland resident who lived so much of his life educating people on the horrors of the Holocaust. I've been to many memorials, visited concentration camps in Europe that were turned into wonderful memorials and museums... so I understand maybe my experiences made me hopeful for more than we got. But given the other elements - like the lack of information on the website as well as the seriously unfriendly staff, sadly, I found this experience to be...

Very unfriendly...i thought they would be compassionate and welcoming but I was obviously homeless...pushing a rolling walker loaded with my life posessions. With multiple serious medical issues I would liked to use the walker seat to sit on. I showed them the beautiful Yair Emanuel silk tallit that I had been schlepping around during my homeless journey but they seemed very uncomfortable with my presence so I left crying. This occurred almost 2 years ago. I did noticed that the reception given to others who were "well heeled" was enthusiastic. They used airport codes lax pdx jfk to identify themselves. I briefly did get an opportunity to view the items in the gift store and it brought back memories of my dearly loved Aunt Anna and Uncle Sam....i am now 71 years old . I am 4 year college educated with an impressive work history. Very disappointed with the encounter. PS i grew up in NYC and...

i went for a school trip. the museum itself was okay, but at the end of one of the activities, the worker who was leading us gave her very opinionated and biased political views regarding current topics. i felt it was so unnecessary and uncalled for. it made me uncomfortable and took away from the experience. politics have no place in a jewish and holocaust museum, the museum is meant to bring people together in order to educate and remember,...