EUGENE, Ore. - (April 13, 2011) - The University of Oregon's Museum of Natural and Cultural History will open the new exhibit, "Face to Face with Masks from the Museum Collections," on Friday, April 29.

The exhibit features traditional masks from the museum's North American, African and Oceanic collections - many of them displayed for the first time - along with masks from visitors' day-to-day lives. Opening day festivities will include a free public reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the museum, at 1680 E. 15th Ave., Eugene.

"Masks have been part of the human experience throughout recorded history," says Cynthia Budlong, assistant director of exhibitions. "After exploring masks from the museum's collections, reading other visitor's comments and sharing their own thoughts on masks, it is our hope that visitors will reconsider what masks are and how they function in societies."

Visitors to the exhibit will be invited to contemplate and then comment on a variety of masks, to create their own masks, and to take home souvenir photos of their finished products. "Face to Face with Masks from the Museum Collections" will be on display in the changing exhibit gallery through Dec. 31.

The exhibit is co-sponsored by the UO departments of anthropology, art history and ethnic studies, and by the Oregon Humanities Center and the College of Arts and Sciences.

The UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and youths ages 17 and under, and $8 for families (two adults and as many as four youths). Museum members and university faculty, staff and students are admitted free. Admission is free for the public on Wednesdays. Guided tours are offered each Friday at 1 p.m.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.

CONTACT: Judi Pruitt, assistant director of visitor services, 541-346-1671, judip@uoregon.edu

LINKS: Museum of Natural and Cultural History, natural-history.uoregon.edu and Facebook.com/oregonnaturalhistory