Bartlesville Area History Museum

Cute little area museum on the top floor of a city building downtown. Fight the city bills on the bottom floor and get a little history on the top. Its free so you can't really complain, but it just left me wanting more. More information, more exhibits, more variety would greatly improve this bit of history. The museum focuses on local Native American culture, the areas history of oil, the areas first uses of photography and several local families. Many of the exhibits have mannequin displays, which come off a little creepy. There are a good amount of antiques, but it seems its set up for people that just want to look, not read. Exhibit information and descriptions are minimal. The highlight is the One Room School House. I was told that schools can bring their kids to have an experience of what school was like in the 1900s. I would have loved an interactive museum experience like that. We do have the the Challenger Program at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, here in Texas, where you went through the actions of Mission Control. But the School House would have been much more up my alley as kid, the history nerd and future history major. The gift shop was the saddest I've seen in awhile. I always buy something from a museum gift shop. This place had nothing distinctively related to the museum itself. I would have appreciated some Bartlesville Area History Museum souvenirs. There were some dusty books, VHS tapes on who know what and other generic items. blah. Sorry I tried to give you my money, but you just couldn't make it happen.They're open Monday-Friday 10 am - 4 pm. So if you're in BVille for business and are looking for something to keep you occupied, this might take up 15-30 minutes of your time.