exterior of the university museum behind trees in early autumn colors

Main Content

About Our Museum

First opened as a natural history museum in 1874, the University Museum at Southern Illinois University Carbondale has evolved into a teaching museum that represents the humanities, the sciences and the arts. While our focus is on southern Illinois, our humanities collection includes ethnographic materials that allow us to share the world with a diverse campus and a region that is isolated from urban centers. With roughly 70,000 objects in our care, the University Museum captures and illuminates the human story, opening a window on who we are and where we came from.

Museum Hours

Tuesday - Friday: Noon - 4pm
Saturday: 1pm - 4pm
Sunday & Monday: Closed

Free and open to all.

Public metered parking available across from the Student Center and beside Woody Hall.

Exhibits

North Hall

Mitchell, Continuum, and Atrium Galleries

  • EARTH, WIND, FIRE: The works of Sylvia R. Greenfield
    August 23rd – Dec 17th, 2022
    The University Museum is proud to present and exhibition of ex-faculty member Sylvia R. Greenfield's work. In her own words, "When I was in graduate school, I had to write a statement about my work. The duality then was expressed by the words 'macrocosm' and 'microcosm.' Today those words still apply, but I would also add the duality of 'randomness' and 'structure.'"

South Hall

  • Southern Illinois Gallery
    Our Region
    Ongoing
    Our Region is an exhibition of Southern Illinois history, featuring artifacts from the University Museum and Center for Archaeological Investigations collections.

  • Lutes Gallery
    European Painting, Sculpture, and Decorative Arts
    Ongoing
    This exhibition highlights paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and furniture from Renaissance Europe selected from the collection of Carl W. Lutes.

  • Saluki Gallery
    Diversity Is
    Aug 30th – October 8th 2022
    The Diversity is project by Deft Lunch is an effort to recognize, celebrate, and promote the limitless value of diversity in the world. 

    SIMS Exhibition
    October 14th - December 17th
    The University Museum is proud to present the annual juried exhibition curated by the Southern Illinois Metal Smiths.

  • West Gallery
    Imagination to Reality
    August 23rd – Dec 17th, 2022
    From works of art to the very house you live in, the artists or artisans behind them didn't begin these projects without a detailed plan. The University Museum's curators have perused out collection and found a wide variety of works highlighting this process.

  • Hall of Art
    Papercraft
    August 23rd – Dec 17th, 2022
    Throughout the world many artists and artisans have manipulated the simple medium of paper into a seemingly endless number of objects.

  • Study Gallery
    Iconic
    August 23rd – Dec 17th, 2022
    While spiritual beliefs may differ around the world, most of these groups create iconography to reflect their beliefs. The University Museum Curators have scoured the Archives to bring you a collection of religious iconographies from our various international collections.

  • International Gallery
    Over and Under
    August 23rd – Dec 17th, 2022
    Weaving is a truly ancient art, and not one that is unique to any one group or culture. It is a practice that has spanned the globe, allowing humans to create some truly amazing objects. From masks to backpacks the Curators at the University Museum have found some true woven wonders from around the world.

the siu museum presents earth, wind, fire: works by sylvia r. greenfield from august 23 - december 17, 2022. an opening reception will be held on august 26, from 4-7pm.

 

"diversity is dope" promotional image for the diversity is exhibition at the university museum

 

Digital Exhibitions & Artist Talks

  • The Land That I Love
    Farming in Southern Illinois is rooted in the lives of the farmers who care for the land. The farms are more than crops and soil; they are Southern Illinois' heritage and its future.

  • Midwestern
    Drawn from his time intentionally lost on the backroads of the states he knows best, Justin Hamm’s work, visual and verbal, is equal parts inspection of the American mythos and testament against the worn-out adage that the Midwest is merely "flyover country".

  • The Art of Darkness
    Tim Atseff engaged in dual careers as an artist and as a journalist. Now, he has returned to his creative roots painting with an urgency that matches our times and time itself.

  • William H. Thielen
    An interview with the artist about his current exhibit "Double Whammy" and about his life in art

  • Conversation 2.0
    African art from the Reginald Petty African Art Collection and works of Edna Patterson-Petty

selected images from the digital exhibitions and artist talks videos