Collections & Research

Preserving and presenting your stories

MOI collects, preserves, and curates hundreds of thousands of items of historical significance — painstaking work that largely takes place outside the public’s view.

Online collections database

Browse or search for significant photos and objects from our region’s past. We’re always adding new items, so check back often.

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Spotlight: The Wasden Collection

This collection of 80,000+ items includes remains of mammoth, bison, camel, and more excavated from a cave west of Idaho Falls. Stretching over 13,000 years, the collection tells of the earliest Idahoans and challenges timelines and assumptions long held by archaeologists.

Artifact collections

The collections at MOI tell stories with artifacts and objects that speak to the complexity of Idaho and its inhabitants throughout history. Notable collections at MOI include the Keefer and Dugout Dick Collections of materials from prominent homesteaders, as well as the Wasden Collection — a set of 80,000+ archaeologically significant items and specimen excavated from a cave just west of Idaho Falls.

Document & photo archives

The archives at MOI contain primary source documents and materials, including a large collection of historic and regional photographs, and a non-circulating library of printed materials. The archives is also host to large historic collections, such as:

  • documents related to nuclear facilities, including Argonne West, EBR-I, and EBR-II
  • early Idaho Falls and Bonneville County logbooks, tax ledgers, and police records
  • materials from early local civic clubs, such as the Village Improvement Society, Odd Fellows, and Music Club of Idaho Falls
  • collections from regional journalists and photographers
  • oral histories from prominent local residents

Research in the archives

Archival collections not available online are available to the public by appointment.

Request an appointment

Donate an item

Got something you’d like us to consider for our collection?

Tell us about it

Questions?

Contact Kristina at 208.522.1400 ext. 3003 or email.