MUSEUM

Wylie House Museum

Located on E. Second Street, the historic home of IU's first president is now a learning center and teaching resource for students and faculty across a variety of disciplines.
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An exterior shot of Wylie House Museum

Wylie House Museum Events

The Wylie House Museum hosts several event each year, most of which are free and open to the public. Check back here and/or on the IU Libraries calendar for regular updates.

 

Current & Upcoming Events

A wall gallery at Wylie House Museum shows a timeline and images of Louisa
Brave. Complex. Cherished.
Louisa's Garden Exhibition, May 1 - Sept. 12

Meet Louisa Wylie Boisen (1839–1930) through a garden of student and staff exhibits. 

Wylie House Museum’s newest exhibition, Louisa’s Garden, interprets her accomplishments, complex personality, and legacy through flowers. The exhibition was developed by the museum's Sarah L. Luckay Fellow, students, and museum staff over the course of the academic year. 

This vibrant collection of physical and digital exhibits—rooted in historical artifacts—explores the ways this early IU female graduate and the eldest daughter of an IU professor was brave, complex, and is still cherished today.

  • An interpretive garden space, full of plants referenced by Louisa in her personal and published horticultural writing and in her role as a judge at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. 
  • Artifacts, books, and original writings on display in the museum's education center. 
  • A museum exhibit, Louisa's Closet, featuring 19th century clothing ensembles on loan from IU's Sage Historic Textile Collection, which showcase garments associated with different facets of Louisa's life. 
  • A self-guided tour of the property, highlighting the history of trees as they relate to Louisa and her life as a naturalist. 
  • An art installation - plant-dyed quilted fence panels - bordering Louisa's Garden bed, which was created by one of IU's Fiber Arts classes.  

These exhibit elements are incorporated into our regular tours with special Louisa's Garden tours offered every Saturday at 2:30 pm through September 12th. 

Can't visit in person? Explore Louisa's Garden  digital exhibit online.

Special thanks to our Indiana University Bloomington partners—including the IU Herbarium, Sage Collection, Eskenazi School of Art + Design, and the Geography Department—for helping this exhibition grow, lending artifacts, and contributing guidance, resources, and art to this exhibition. 

Recurring Event
Saturday Crafternoons at Wylie House Museum

Saturdays, 11am-2pm

Drop in for a free hands-on activity guided by our IU student staff. 

Activities change monthly and are of a historical or nature theme. 

Wylie House tours are free and offered every hour on the hour from 10am-4pm (last tour beginning at 3pm). The 2pm Saturday tours are especially family-friendly. Make a craft and take a tour with us.

Bed in room in front of two large windows. Bed has antique nine-patch quilt on it.
Annual Spring Event
Antique Quilt Exhibit

March 6 - April 25

Every year, the first weekend in March, Wylie House Museum puts away its winter coverlets and pulls out a large election of its 19th century quilts. This turning of the museum's historic textiles coincides with Bloomington's annual Indiana Heritage Quilt Show (IHQS) held at the city's convention center. 

Our quilt exhibit remains on view through April, with several remaining on museum beds through the summer months. This year, it was curated by IU Master's in Curatorship student Maddie Guy.