Located on the first level of the Michael O. Leavitt North Capitol Building in Salt Lake City,
the Museum of Utah is officially open to the public.
The museum is free and open to the public year-round, Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday-Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Inside the museum are more than 900 artifacts carefully curated and organized into four galleries.
The project has been in the works for many years, with Utah being the second-to-last state in the nation to receive its own museum. The now completed museum began in 2019 and was officially opened on June 27, 2026.
When asked about the project, Tim Glenn, Museum of Utah director, shared that he wants the space to be the “Smithsonian for the state of Utah.”
The building is not a standalone museum. The other levels include a conference center, meeting spaces, staff and administration offices, a penthouse and basement. However, the first floor is entirely dedicated to the museum and its gift shop full of Utah memorabilia.
Jennifer Ortiz, Utah Historical Society Director, said that it was a very fortunate time for the construction of the building.
“There is no other state history museum like this one that is a part of another building on the Capitol complex,” Ortiz said. “And so there was an incredible opportunity that we were able to move forward with this project at the time that we did, when the building was projected to be built, why not build a state history museum in conjunction with all the other needs that exist here on Capitol Hill?”
Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Museum of Utah, Kimberly Kronwall, expanded on the fact that there was an increasing need for a place to store and share Utah’s history through its artifacts. The collection was previously stored in the basement of the Rio Grande Depot in Salt Lake City.
“With COVID and the earthquake, it gave us an opportunity to really evaluate how we store and care for our shared heritage here in Utah,” Kronwall said. “We’re excited to have about 90% of our collection stored on site. The Louvre and Smithsonian don't even have that.”
Within the museum there are four permanent galleries covering around 17,000 square feet. These galleries include Building Utah (labor history), Inspiring Utah (pop culture), Becoming Utah (state history) and Connecting Utah (traditions).
There is also a rotating gallery that is around 1,500 square feet. The inaugural gallery is "The Past is Personal: How We Remember." The exhibit draws inspiration from the 1976 bicentennial project “The Peoples of Utah,” a book considered the state's first ethnic studies work. This gallery will be available until the end of the year, but typically the gallery will rotate 3-4 times a year.
Each gallery is organized thematically with some chronological elements. This was done in hopes of telling multiple stories in different ways.
“When you walk through, you are going to see a really layered experience through objects, text, images and AV,” Ortiz said. “The thematic approach allows us to tell stories from multiple different angles. It also helps for that sense of belonging. Hopefully everyone will have the opportunity to see themselves reflected in the museum.”
While the museum remains thematic, there are still some chronological elements.
“There is a chronological spine in three of our four galleries so that helps visitors place themselves both in place, time and history, so that you are not getting lost in the mix,” Ortiz said.
One of the museum’s main goals is to help people see and feel that they belong to Utah through the many stories shared.
“We are not a deep dive on anything, but we are an introduction to so much of Utah’s history and that allows us to layer in those stories," Tim Glenn, Museum of Utah director, said.
These stories are shared throughout the museum through the eight original Native American tribes highlighted, an original pioneer handcart, the different faith and ethnic communities within Utah featured, a movie about Utah told from the perspective of real Utahns within an immersive theater and more.
Stories are told through videos, written paragraphs, artifacts, games and tactile experiences. Some of the most memorable pieces throughout the collection include the Mormon Meteor III, a 2002 Olympic torch, the first state flag of Utah, a World War II military uniform, Marty McFly’s jacket from “Back to the Future Part III” and a telescope used by Orson Pratt.
The museum creators and staff hope that this is a place for people to come and connect with Utah’s history and to be able to see themselves represented.
For those interested in becoming more involved with the museum there will be an engagement room on the second floor open to all levels of researchers where individuals can request to pull collections up from the garden level. In the future, there will also be classes hosted. Currently, there is a museum volunteer program with open sign-ups.
