Topaz Museum - Delta, Utah

Jaydon B.

What a moving and impactful exhibit. Beautifully put together, tons of artifacts and original beautiful art from internees at Topaz. While a beautiful exhibit it’s ugly to think this mars the history of our country that professes freedom and was built on the backs of immigrants to start with. If you’re in the area of thinking of passing through it’s a MUST SEE. The guide we had, Ron, was also very knowledgeable!

Montana

Great and detailed information about the Topaz internment camp. The museum is really well done and has a lot of artifacts and art in addition to lots of information about what life was like at the internemtn camp. A museum guide/docent, a local teacher, was there as well and provided great knowledge and answered questions. It was free to visit as well.

It's certainly a depressing part of history to explore (crazy that this was going on in Utah and most of us have no idea this place exists). Definitely would recommend checking out the museum.

Tony

Excellent Museum! The secret camera video captures taken by one of the camp residents and is played here alone makes the drive to the museum worth the visit. Seeing everything in person sheds so much light on how life would have been living within the Topaz camp. So glad this museum is here to preserve this history.

Mati O.

It's a very intensive display of the Japanese Americans' life in the camp in Delta after the Pearl Habor. Not only the srtcrafts are very excellent but the life stories of each outstanding characters very impressive.

James L.

I loved learning about the WWII Japanese Internment camps at the Topaz museum. It's a dark part of our history that if we don't remember, we'll repeat the same mistakes again. It's unfortunate that we had the constitution in the 1940s, but we justified taking away the civil liberties of Japanese Americans because it was popular. This is an important history to learn. If the museum has legal right to do, i would have liked to buy a stack of post cards with the art that was on display as a reminder of the prisoners. It's common in art museums to sell post cards of the art that was displayed.

Tyler A.

Great museum and very friendly and knowledgeable staff. We had a group of 20 and came in right before closing but they were so gracious and answered all of our questions. I grew up in Utah but had never been or heard much about Topaz. Highly recommended going here to learn a little about our country’s history

Tom A.

Very pleasant surprise while passing through Delta, Utah. My first thought as I drove by was that this might be a museum dedicated to the local geology of the area, since Topaz Mountain is nearby and people still look for Topaz rocks there. Boy was I wrong.

I learned very quickly that this museum is dedicated to the treatment and housing of over 11,000 Japanese citizens at the Topaz Japanese American Internment Camp just a few miles outside of Delta during World War 2. It was an eye-opening experience.

I appreciate the staff who directed us first to two short films that gave an introduction to the Topaz camp. After that, we were able to spend considerable time walking around the beautiful museum, taking pictures, and reading as much information as we could from the various signs and placards. The message was clear: This camp, and the others just like it, violated the civil rights of the people it housed. At Topaz, at least one detainee was shot and killed as he tried to escape. Others suffered through unimaginable conditions after being forced to leave their homes in the Bay Area of California.

Later, we were invited to go out to the actual site of the camp. I must thank our tour guide (Scott) who drove the lead vehicle as we took our vehicles in a caravan out to the site. We were able to listen on our phones as Scott spoke and directed us to where we were going.

Scott provided very insightful comments and clear knowledge of what actually happened at the camp and the conditions the detainees faced during their time at Topaz. In addition to the wind and blowing sand, he made sure we realized just how cold it got in the winter and how hot it got during the summer. Of course, there was no air conditioning out in the brutal desert. I believe Scott communicated the brutality and the desperation quite effectively.

It was also interesting during the tour to see some of the re-constructed houses (and portions of the hospital) that are now relocated to Delta. I truly enjoyed my experience at Topaz Museum.

Sterling S.

Our family recently learned that there was an internment camp in Utah despite living here all our lives (elsewhere in southern Utah). We spent about 3 hours with our kids between the museum in Delta and getting a driving tour to the Topaz site. This was probably the best museum I've ever been to. Everything is so well done, with plenty of exhibits, artifacts, and information to look at, but also not so much that it's overwhelming. The docents were so knowledgeable and kind. We definitely recommend emailing beforehand to schedule a tour of the camp site which is about a 15 minute drive from the museum. I can't recommend this enough. Our family loved this experience - we've been talking about it for hours afterward. It's informative and so important to remember and be aware of. They request a donation, but you don't need tickets or anything like that. Absolutely recommend this for everyone!

Jaydon B.

What a moving and impactful exhibit. Beautifully put together, tons of artifacts and original beautiful art from internees at Topaz. While a beautiful exhibit it’s ugly to think this mars the history of our country that professes freedom and was built on the backs of immigrants to start with. If you’re in the area of thinking of passing through it’s a MUST SEE. The guide we had, Ron, was also very knowledgeable!

Montana

Great and detailed information about the Topaz internment camp. The museum is really well done and has a lot of artifacts and art in addition to lots of information about what life was like at the internemtn camp. A museum guide/docent, a local teacher, was there as well and provided great knowledge and answered questions. It was free to visit as well.

It's certainly a depressing part of history to explore (crazy that this was going on in Utah and most of us have no idea this place exists). Definitely would recommend checking out the museum.

Tony

Excellent Museum! The secret camera video captures taken by one of the camp residents and is played here alone makes the drive to the museum worth the visit. Seeing everything in person sheds so much light on how life would have been living within the Topaz camp. So glad this museum is here to preserve this history.

Mati O.

It's a very intensive display of the Japanese Americans' life in the camp in Delta after the Pearl Habor. Not only the srtcrafts are very excellent but the life stories of each outstanding characters very impressive.

James L.

I loved learning about the WWII Japanese Internment camps at the Topaz museum. It's a dark part of our history that if we don't remember, we'll repeat the same mistakes again. It's unfortunate that we had the constitution in the 1940s, but we justified taking away the civil liberties of Japanese Americans because it was popular. This is an important history to learn. If the museum has legal right to do, i would have liked to buy a stack of post cards with the art that was on display as a reminder of the prisoners. It's common in art museums to sell post cards of the art that was displayed.