The Lilah Callen Holden Elephant Museum, which opened December 1985, tells the story of elephants from their ancestors to the present day using exhibits on art, circuses, religion, war, history and pre-history.

The circular building, located next to the Elephant Exhibit, centers around an 8' tall & 13' long mastodon skeleton, which is on extended loan from the Smithsonian Institution. Exhibits include models of circus, work, and ceremonial elephants; ivory objects; circus tricycle; and history of Packy and our elephant herd.

The museum is named for Lilah Callen Holden, a long-time Oregon resident and elephant lover who died in 1983. Her family donated more than $100,000 for the museum as a memorial to her commitment to the zoo's Asian elephant program.

As far as we know, our museum is the world's only elephant museum.