The Museum of Culture and Environment approaches our diverse and changing world with an interdisciplinary perspective, examining human life, culture, and our interaction with the environment. The Museum is located in Dean Hall on the Central Washington University campus.

Current Exhibitions

Diary of a Dust Mite (Dean Hall Lobby)

Being the First: LatinX Pioneers in Public Service (Window on Central)

For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights (January 30-March 16)

Ernest C. Withers

Sanitation Workers Assembling for a Solidarity March, Memphis, March 28, 1968

Gelatin silver print 8 1/2 x 14 3/4 in.

National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Museum Purchase

This exhibition has been made possible through NEH on the Road, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It has been adapted and is being toured by Mid-America Arts Alliance. For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights was organized by The Center for Art, Design, Visual Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in partnership with the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution.

Companion Exhibit Feb. 1 – Feb. 28 Civil Rights in the Pacific Northwest.
Students from CWU’s Diversity and Equity Center have collaborated with students from the Museum Studies minor on an exhibit that tells the story of Civil Rights struggles and activism at home. This exhibit is a companion to For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights, an NEH “On the Road” exhibit that will be concurrently shown at the CWU Museum of Culture & Environment. Civil Rights in the Pacific Northwest will be open from Feb. 1 – Feb. 28 in the Diversity and Equity Center, Black Hall rm. 105-1. For more information, visit www.cwu.edu/diversity/center

Keep up to date with the Museum newsletter! Subscribe for quarterly updates and occasional event reminders. Read the latest issue: March 23, 2018.  

Upcoming Events

5:00 p.m. Feb. 7, 3:00 p.m., Feb. 14, 11:00 a.m., Feb. 21 “Walking in Our Shoes: Tours of For All the World to See with CWU’s Black Student Leaders”

For All the World to See invites visitors to explore potent images and objects from the Civil Rights era that influenced how Americans perceived race and the struggle for equality. Visitors will have the opportunity to view the exhibit through the eyes of CWU’s Black student leaders, who will provide guided tours on the following Thursdays: Feb. 7 (5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.), Feb 14 (3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.), and Feb. 21 (11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.)

5:00 PM Tuesday Feb. 19 “Being Black in Ellensburg: A Safe Space for Black Students, faculty, Staff, and Community Members to Share Their Stories” 
This event is an opportunity for Black students, faculty, staff, and community members to share their stories and feelings about living in Ellensburg and on the CWU campus. What would effective networks of support, enrichment, and belonging for Black community members—and all people of color—look like in Ellensburg? At the Wellington Event Center

5:00 PM Thursday Feb. 21 “Un/Belonging: Can People of Color Call Ellensburg ‘Home’?”
What are the experiences of people of color in Ellensburg? This panel features the voices of people of color within our community as they reflect on life in a small, eastern Washington town. This is an opportunity to listen, understand, and grow as we imagine more effective networks of support, enrichment, and belonging for people of color in Ellensburg.  

5:00 PM Feb. 28 “Intersectionality and Solidarity: A Roundtable Discussion with Dr. Masonya Bennett”
“Intersectionality” describes the ways in which identities—race, class, gender, and sexuality—interact and connect within society. Dr. Masonya Bennett’s research explores intersections between Black, Latin American, and Caribbean identities in Charlotte, North Carolina.  But how do these identities intersect within Ellensburg? Join Dr. Bennett along with a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, and community members as they discuss the important issues faced by communities of color and consider new forms of solidarity going forward.

5:00 PM  March 7 Media Matters: Latinx Media and Social Change
Join the MCE and members of the Latinx media as we consider the importance of Spanish-language television and radio within our region.

10:00 AM April 27 Salmon Run 5k/10k and kid's run