Wyoming
State Museum

Collections

The Wyoming State Museum was established in 1895 and has been collecting, preserving, and interpreting a wide variety of artifacts for use at the State Museum and State Historic Sites ever since. These collections are representative of life in Wyoming from prehistoric times to the present.

• Featured artifacts from the collection
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• Can I purchase photographs of artifacts for publications or media productions?

Types of Artifacts Collected

The Wyoming State Museum currently maintains the following types of artifacts in the state's collections and will continue to collect:

Structures (on a limited basis due to storage constraints) as well as building fragments and site features.

Building Furnishings including bedding, floor coverings, furniture, household accessories, lighting devices, plumbing fixtures, temperature control devices, and window or door coverings.

Personal Artifacts including items of adornment, military and civilian clothing, accessories, personal gear, and toilet articles.

Tools and Equipment including but not limited to items used in industry, medicine, agriculture, and the household.

Communication Artifacts including advertising, documentary artifacts, and various types of communication equipment.

Transportation Artifacts including aerospace, animal-powered, human-powered, motorized, rail, and water transportation equipment and accessories.

Art including original art, which was created as one of a kind or as one of a limited series, depicting Wyoming's people and places and the West in general and works created by artists who have worked in Wyoming; and commercial decorative artworks produced in commercial quantities and used primarily for household decoration.

Recreational Artifacts including games, public entertainment and recreational devices, sports equipment, and toys.

Societal Artifacts including behavioral control devices, ceremonial and governmental artifacts, and exchange media.

Packages and Containers including product packages and unclassified containers.

Ethnographic Artifacts focusing future collecting primarily on Plains Indian cultures.

Natural History including taxidermy, geology, and paleontology specimens. These artifacts will be collected mainly to fulfill exhibition needs and not to achieve a comprehensive natural history collection.

Archaeology including excavated or surface found historic and prehistoric materials. Artifacts collected in the past are maintained, however, active collecting of archaeological materials is now the responsibility of the State Archaeologist Office. If archaeological artifacts do not fit the State Archaeologist Office's scope of collecting, they may be considered for addition to the permanent collection.