About
Our Museum
From Petroglyphs to Pickleball, the stories of Bainbridge Island connect us as we celebrate the experiences of our diverse community.
A Museum On The Move
1908
The Island Schoolhouse was built at Island Center.
1923
The Schoolhouse, one of the last one-room schools in operation, closed and was relocated to the high school to be used as a band and choir room.
1972
The Schoolhouse was donated to the Museum and moved to Strawberry Hill Park.
1997
Through the generosity of the McCracken family, a building was added to the rear of the Schoolhouse.
2004
The Museum’s two buildings were moved to the current site and reopened to the public.
TODAY
We continue to grow and change, offering new exhibits, research opportunities, and public programming.
Mission
Preserve and share the stories of Bainbridge Island to promote a greater understanding of our community and the world in which we live.
Vision
Spark curiosity and inspire people to connect, explore different perspectives, reflect, and celebrate the diverse stories of our community.
Values
Integrity. Our programs are intellectually responsible and encourage visitors to think about history from different viewpoints.
Visitor-Centered. We encourage visitors to think for themselves—to imagine and reflect on their own experiences and connect to our local history. We encourage two-way conversation and strive to design exhibits for social learning.
Collaboration. We are always working to develop strong partnerships with other museums, institutions, and local communities to share collections, expertise and resources. We believe that together, we can achieve far more than we can accomplish alone.
Curiosity. We strive to create programming and exhibits that provoke visitors of all ages to ask questions, touch, explore, and discover.
Experimentation. We think BIG. We are flexible and open to out-of-the-box thinking. We accept that sometimes we fail, but we jump at the chance to solve problems creatively.
Our Commitment
As an institution that portrays history, we have a responsibility to clearly acknowledge racism and work to better represent People of Color. We are working to eliminate “otherness” and bring more diverse voices into everything we do.