The High Desert Museum is bringing back Winter Nights every Thursday in December. For those looking for a unique evening out, the Museum will remain open until 7:30 pm with seasonal themes, a chance to see new exhibitions, activities for families and students and reduced admission rates.
In Winter Nights, the Museum offers people a break from the busy work week with a festive night out when they normally may not be able to visit. In addition, the Museum presently has one new exhibition and will open a second one on December 17.
For this year’s Winter Nights:
December 1: Welcome to Winter – Rimrock Café will be open for folks to grab dinner or a treat and enjoy a wine tasting. The Museum store will also be open with discounts for all: Museum members will receive 20 percent off on most items and others 10 percent. Visitors will find kids activities, a free gift-wrapping station and a special tote-bag thank you for Museum members.
December 8: Sugar Cookie Shindig – Enjoy engaging activities for kids including High Desert-themed storytime, snowflake making and sugar cookie decorating. The Museum store, Silver Sage Trading, will also be open with discounts for all and a gift-wrapping station, and Rimrock Café will be ready for diners.
December 15: College Night – Students with college identification will receive free admission! Kids activities will still be happening, and the Museum store will also be open with discounts for all and a gift-wrapping station. Visitors can also enjoy a tasting of locally made hard ciders and try their hand at sugar cookie decoration.
December 22: Solstice Social – Explore the newest High Desert Museum exhibit Under the Snow. A meal, snack, beverage and beer tasting await in the Rimrock Café, and the Museum store will also be open with last-minute gift shopping, discounts for all, a gift-wrapping station and kids activities including story time and paper snowflake-making.
December 29: Après Snow – Get cozy after a day of snow play—explore temporary exhibits and get a tasty meal and beverage from the Rimrock Café. We will welcome Lava Terrace Cellars for wine tasting and families can still enjoy kids activities. The Museum store will also be open with discounts for all.
There is always something new to explore at the High Desert Museum with up to nine new exhibits every year. December is no exception: The newest exhibition opens Saturday, December 17, Under the Snow. The exhibit reveals the hidden world beneath the snow, called the subnivium. In this environment, animals create a matrix of tunnels to survive the winter’s frigid temperatures and hide from the predators that lurk above. Using interactive graphics, visitors will meet the species that depend on the snow, including a resilient mammal named Pika, an observant owl called Great Gray and a fruiting fungus known as Fuzzy Foot. Learn more at highdesertmuseum.org/under-the-snow.
Winter Nights visitors can also explore the original exhibit In the Arena: Photographs from America’s Only Touring Black Rodeo. Through the lens of San Francisco Bay area photographer Gabriela Hasbun, the exhibit documents the exhilarating atmosphere of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo—the only touring Black rodeo in the country—and the showstopping style and skill of the Black cowboys and cowgirls who compete in it year after year. Learn more at highdesertmuseum.org/in-the-arena.
Admission for Winter Nights is $10 general admission and $6 for ages 12 and under. Museum members are always free. Visitors who arrive earlier in the day may stay for Winter Nights without paying additional admission. The outdoor exhibits are closed during Winter Nights. Regular winter hours are 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Learn more at highdesertmuseum.org/winter-nights.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM:
THE HIGH DESERT MUSEUM opened in Bend, Oregon in 1982. It brings together wildlife, cultures, art, history and the natural world to convey the wonder of North America’s High Desert. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, was the 2019 recipient of the Western Museums Association’s Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence and was a 2021 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. To learn more, visit highdesertmuseum.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.