Ensconced in honey-colored, undulating limestone, this museum makes a striking architectural impression. Inside it offers cultural artifacts, costumes, video and audio recordings related to the indigenous people of the Americas. Exhibits are largely organized and presented by individual tribes, which provides an intimate, if sometimes disjointed, overall narrative. The 'Our Universes' gallery (on Level 4) about Native American beliefs and creation stories is intriguing.
The curving exterior has no sharp edges. The impression it gives is of nature flowing into the learning space, accentuated by an outside green area of wetlands and micro-biomes meant to simulate the ecosystem of the North American continent. The museum offers storytelling, percussion workshops and lots of other family programming. The ground-floor Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe is the best dining option on the Mall.
