Oklahoma pop culture museum making progress in designing exhibits, collecting artifacts

OKLAHOMA CITY – An eclectic celebration of Oklahoma’s creative history is making progress as the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture, dubbed OKPOP, takes steps towards opening.

Since hitting its fundraising goals in November, museum staff are gathering collections to display. The museum, located on donated land across from the historic Cain’s Ballroom venue in Tulsa, has amassed over 40,000 pop culture artifacts ranging from movie posters to musical instruments, documentary films to television props.

Notably, it will hold one of Thor’s hammers from the Marvel franchise, a wand from the Harry Potter films, a gremlin puppet used in the movie “Gremlins” and valuable Star Wars comics — all of which were created by or connected to Oklahoma artists.

It will also exhibit artifacts like a 24-inch-tall cardboard cutout of a cowboy robot’s head from Gene Autry’s 1935 film, “The Phantom Empire,” outtakes from Leon Russell albums and the guitar Oklahoma native and legendary swing musician Tommy Allsup played with Buddy Holly, a rock and roll pioneer who died in a tragic 1959 plane crash.

OKPOP staff have also selected an exhibit design and architectural design firms, which will become public once contracts are finalized. These teams will help design the exhibits museum staff has ideas for already, as well as complete construction on the building’s interior.

From there, the museum team and construction management firm will work to bring the exhibit ideas to life to celebrate Oklahomans from across the state.

Trait Thompson, the executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society, which oversees OKPOP, is hopeful the museum will open in spring of 2028.

The museum has garnered donations from the families of Oklahoma legends like Bob Wills, Leon Russell and Clarence Nash, and seen support from Sooner State stars like Blake Shelton, Kristin Chenoweth and Olivia Munn.

Celebrations of the state’s culture are not the museum’s only anticipated impact. The museum’s Executive Director Jake Krumwiede estimates anywhere between 80,000-100,000 people could visit the museum each year. 

Krumwiede said the museum should reflect the people who created the pop culture, including the celebrities, the creatives and even everyday Oklahomans.

“As we build this museum, I really want it to feel like everyone has a stake in it because they do,” Krumwiede said. “We’re building this for the people of Oklahoma and for every visitor that walks through that door.”

What will be in the museum?

The 60,000-square-foot museum will have different themes for each of its three floors. The first floor, which will be free to enter, will have western swing legend Bob Wills’ fully-restored tour bus, a cafe and a gift store. The second and third floors will cost money to visit.

The second floor will celebrate Oklahoman’s contributions to film, television and theater, with each room themed to a different genre. As visitors walk through the rooms, they could experience rooms focused on western classics, science fiction works and even popular sitcoms Oklahomans have influenced.

“With our exhibits, we want to create the best visitor experience that we can, and we want to create a museum that is unlike any other museum people have visited,” Krumwiede said.

The third floor will not be separated by genre. Instead, it will be based on the stages artists and bands experience throughout their careers, including starting out in the industry, writing songs, having a garage band and going on tour, Thompson said.

“We really want you to discover new artists,” Thompson said of the layout. “We want you to discover all these people.”

The museum will announce ticket costs closer to its opening.

‘Long road’ to opening

Efforts to open the museum have been ongoing for almost 20 years. The idea for the museum originated following successful exhibits on rock and roll and film in Oklahoma at the state’s History Center in the mid-2000s, Thompson said.  

The idea was first pitched in 2012. In 2015, the Oklahoma Legislature issued a $25 million bond to help finance the building’s construction, but within a few years the COVID-19 pandemic and funding issues halted progress.

Finally, in November, the museum hit its $18 million fundraising goal which unlocked a matching amount from the Legislature. This, Thompson said, is what is fueling the current progress that he hopes will lead to the museum’s opening in 2028.

In total, the project has raised over $63 million, including through state allocations and private donations.

Thompson said it was a “long road” to open the museum, but that the effort will be worth it.

“This museum is going to be a great place for Oklahoma. It’s going to be a great place for people to go to really understand how much creative talent has come out of the state,” Thompson said. “One of my favorite things about it is when you walk out of that museum, you’re going to feel a sense of pride about being an Oklahoman, and I’m excited for people to see it.”