The University of Idaho Museum opened on November 20, 1964. It took seven years of planning for the Museum to develop, coordinated by the Academic Vice President of the time, Walter Steffens. It was located in the former Geology building which was vacated in 1961. It's first special exhibit was the Appaloosa: The Spotted Horse in Art. The exhibit was originally prepared by the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art and the Appaloosa Horse Club of Moscow. The Faculty Women's Club helped with this first opening. Those on the museum committee included Alfred Bowers, Philip Dumas, Earl Larrison, Roger Harder, Joseph Newton, Stewart Schell, Howard Smith, and Kenneth Hungerford.

Administered by the President's office, it existed to serve that entire campus. There was no limitation to the fields of interest items and artifacts were collected and displayed. Admission was free, and the museum was open to the viewing of the local community. Eventually, museum training short-courses took place at the museum. Then on April 11, 1983 the university museum closed its doors. Ellis Burcaw, museum director at the time, had been director for sixteen years. The museum closing was supposedly in part by the ending of the museology program at the university.