Plains Indians & Pioneers Museum

Wonderful little museum in the heart of Western Oklahoma. Came to visit while staying with family in the area and I have to say for a town of less than 15k people this is a pretty nice establishment!The museum is set into a pretty interesting building as well. I can't truly pin-point the architectural style of it, but I'd say it's mainly mid century modern with a dusting of art deco thrown in, just for good measure. The cupola as you first enter is quite impressive. It is lined with murals depicting life in western oklahoma thru the centuries. Vibrant colors and simple scenes make for a stunning entry.The installation begin with native Americans infographics and artifacts, moving into the Temple Houston's room, then by the depression era/dust bowl room, to showcase some old area relics (bank, post office, photography studio, sheriff) ending right at the gift shop. From here you can visit the outdoor annex buildings, via a beautiful courtyard, where agricultural implements as well as a reconstruction sod-dwelling are on display.A gem for anyone who is interested in the historical features of this region. Also FREE of charge, not sure how you could ever go wrong with free education! ^__^

I've been coming here for quite a few years, as I travel to Woodward to visit family on holidays every year. I've seen the museum grow and change over the years, and its developed into quite a resource for local history that I think would interest people from outside the area.While most of the exhibits are the same year after year, whoever has done the curating recently has really given them new life, making me actually see them in a new light, and appreciate the rich history of Woodward and the surrounding area.The only real critique I would have is that the Plains Indians exhibit isn't as large as it could be, but that may be due to available space. There is certainly a lot of Native American history to explore, and it seems there is an abrupt transition between the Plains Indians exhibit and the Pioneers exhibit. Granted, that transition was pretty abrupt historically, but I doubt that was taken into consideration.Because of their connection to each other in local history, I would have placed the Ft. Supply exhibit closer to the Plains Indians exhibit instead of across the museum, as the timeline jumps from room to room, and it would have put each exhibit into context if they had been physically closer. Even a slight adjustment to current exhibit layout and a creative use of floor space would provide the room necessary to join the two together. That's just a minor quibble that doesn't detract from what the museum is attempting to do, which is to show the rich and diverse history of the region.The other bigger issue I have is the use of one wing of the museum as an art gallery for an artist (is he even local?) to sell his paintings and wood carvings. I wouldn't even mention it if the art were Woodward or Oklahoma sourced or related, but as best as I can tell, there's no explanation made, no connection given (some of the photos are even captioned with out-of-state locations like Colorado) -- you just find yourself in a room with woodcraft and photos from some guy, with a price tag. Sure, support your local artist, but surely there are more local artists who could have used some of that space as well? A showcase of local artists instead of one huge room dedicated to one?I wouldn't mind it so much if I remembered a good chunk of the museum is out in the annex, which isn't marked well -- I always forget to check out the whole other half of the museum because it's in a whole other building, so I keep missing out. Better signage would at least insure people check out the other exhibits. Or, turn the annex into the art gallery and keep all the museum exhibits under one roof.I think this issue drops it from 5 to 4 stars for me. Otherwise, I think the current curator has done quite a good job with the exhibits, to the point I was really impressed during my recent visit there, despite my feelings about the artist gallery. I've visited a fair number of museums, and this still ranks as one of the best small town museums (I'd almost venture to say "hidden treasure") I've visited.