Increasing the public's online access to the MNHS permanent collections remains a top priority for the Collections Department. Since the beginning of FY16 (July 1, 2015), over 1,000 artifacts have been digitally photographed and cataloged. (About a third of the artifacts have been published to our online catalog.) This included American Indian material culture (338 items) as well as recent acquisitions and artifacts associated with the Minnesota State Fair (200 items) and popular music in Minnesota (345 items).
The Historic Recognition Grant program will preserve, recognize, and promote the historic legacy of Minnesota, with a focus on commemoration of Minnesota's role in the American Civil War via creation of a digital Civil War resource to aid student instruction for sixth and seventh grade teachers is the third of three projects being administered by MNHS in cooperation with the state's Civil War Commemoration Task Force are in development
Minnesota Historical Society staff are working to serve Twin Cities area schools with increasingly diverse demographics. Staff are providing more support services for students competing in History Day and American Indian History Day. Staff are also promoting and recruiting students for programs that engage students in history like the American Indian Museum Fellowship Program and the Summer History Immersion Program. These funds also provide general staff and logistical support for diversity outreach efforts.
Partners: Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities (ACTC), Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU), Minneapolis Public Schools, St. Paul Public Schools, Through this program, partners are extending the reach of Minnesota History Day while providing History Day support for students from diverse backgrounds and strengthening the mentoring skills of Minnesota college students. Undergraduate students from ACTC and MNSCU colleges are trained to become History Day mentors and work with History Day students at local schools.
MNHS is working to engage Twin Cities youth in programming in order to increase their interest in history and the Minnesota Historical Society. MNHS promotes and recruits diverse students for programs that engage them in understanding how public organizations present historical narratives. One of these programs is the American Indian Museum Fellowship program (above). The funds also provide logistical support for diversity outreach efforts, which includes having tables at events and community engagement activities.
The Drinking Water Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) program identifies environmental contaminants for which current health-based standards currently do not exist or need to be updated, investigate the potential for human exposure to these chemicals, and develop guidance values for drinking water. Contaminants evaluated by CEC staff include contaminants that have been released or detected in Minnesota waters (surface water and groundwater) or that have the potential to migrate to or be detected in Minnesota waters.
To meet increasing demand for digital books, 136 Minnesota Historical Society Press (MHS Press) books have been converted and are available as e-books from popular e-book vendors. Six short form e-books will be released by the end of January 2013. Digital editions of more than 80 MHS Press books are available to libraries, researchers and students via Project Muse, a leading provider of digital humanities and social sciences content. In addition, an enhanced e-book about Minnesota in the 1970s is now being written and developed and will be published in fall 2013.
The Why Treaties Matter exhibit made possible by previous Legacy funding explores the relationships between Minnesota's Dakota and Ojibwe tribes and the United States Government. The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and the Humanities Center will take the work and impact of the exhibit deeper by creating a curriculum to complement the exhibit.
Through this partnership, undergraduate students representing all five ACTC college campuses participated in a summer-long course designed to increase knowledge about the museum field. Students also interned at Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools, mentoring students participating in the History Day program. ACTC Fellows also visited leading museums in the midwest to compare and contrast the Minnesota Historical Society with other cultural institutions regarding content learned in class.
Through this program, partners are extending the reach of National History Day in Minnesota. MNHS professional staff members coordinate school services with an emphasis on support for students from diverse backgrounds. Higher education partnerships help build college readiness skills for middle and high school students and strengthen the mentoring skills of Minnesota college students.
Partners: Northland Schools, Remer, and Washington Technology Magnet School, St. Paul
Improving the educational achievement of Minnesota's students is a strategic priority for MNHS. The Educational Achievement initiative allows MNHS to create partnerships with two school districts
Partners: Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU), University of Minnesota (U of M), Minneapolis Public Schools, St. Paul Public Schools
Through this program, partners are extending the reach of National History Day in Minnesota. MNHS professional staff members coordinate school services with an emphasis on support for students from diverse backgrounds. Higher education partnerships help build college readiness skills for middle and high school students and strengthen the mentoring skills of Minnesota college students.
Heartland Democracy will partner with Commonbond’s Skyline Tower’s Teen Program to engage a cohort of teenagers who are primarily Somali- and Ethiopian-American in the Empowering U program—discovering their own motivation to engage in civic affairs, along with the tools to do so.
The Minnesota Historical Society strives to attract high school and college interns from underrepresented communities to encourage engagement and diversify the institution. Students are placed across the Society in various departments and sites and have the opportunity to work alongside museum professionals to enhance their skills and apply their knowledge in a professional environment. College students participate in learning activities together over a semester-long period to enrich the internship experience and network with other interns in their cohort.
The Minnesota Historical Society strives to attract high school interns from underrepresented communities to encourage engagement and to diversify the institution. Legacy funds supported five gallery assistants in spring 2015. High school students placed in this program get professional on-the-job experience interacting with visitors in the History Center galleries and at public events. These students contributed more than 400 hours to MNHS. Eighty percent of these students were from communities of color.
To hire a qualified and experienced HVAC engineer to evaluate current system preparatory to better control of the Clearwater County History Museum environment
MNHS exhibitions are supported by diverse programming that complements the content of the exhibitions. These additional programs augment and promote the rich stories of Minnesota's history. In FY16, programs included lectures, musical performances, hands-on family activities, and other events. In particular, three exhibitions
Minnesota Association of Museums collaborates with the Minnesota Historical Society in providing professional development and support to history museum professionals across the state. In FY15, this partnership will assist with the funding of a part-time managing coordinator to begin implementing findings on history museum continuing education needs.
The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) will complete the innovative community engagement process started with the previous Legacy grant. CMSM will build upon the progress created with the previous Legacy grant by transitioning the team's focus to carrying-out of strategic access strategies that engage a diversity of community members in the exhibit development process, resulting in the completion of fabrication plans for exhibits and environments that are accessible; engaging; and reflect the diverse art, culture, and heritage of southern Minnesota.
In 2007, the Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota (CMSM) conducted an environmental scan of early learning opportunities for children in southern Minnesota. It became apparent that the region creates few opportunities for children to engage in self-directed learning experiences in social settings; in particular, opportunities that create access to arts, culture, and heritage. This is still true today.
This project had three components: 1) An arts club that meets weekly and provides arts education and peer mentoring; 2) A theater play that will showcase issues/challenges within the Somali community in the community. The workshops are designed to introduce youth to traditional Somali arts and encourage them to extend the tradition through their own artistic practice. 3) Showcasing Somali Art, presentation and intercultural community engagement at the Somali Independence day Festival in 2016.
To preserve the smokestack on the Faribault Woolen Mill, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, as a significant cultural heritage landmark that is otherwise obsolete to business operations
Since 1981, the downtown Minneapolis nightclub First Avenue has been the regional standard-bearer for contemporary music, recognized the world over as the premier venue for the "Minneapolis Sound"
Four new and unique views of Fort Snelling from various points in history will be available for students, teachers and the general public to access online. The Minnesota Historical Society has been collaborating with the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia to build four computer models that illustrate a dynamic and changing Fort Snelling from 1820 to 1945. The models will be linked to a rich and interrelated set of materials from all parts of the Society's collections, including photographs and manuscripts.
To repair and restore the gutter system and cornice assembly of the George W. Gardner House, a contributing feature of the Historic Hill District listed in the National Register of Historic Places
Development is underway on a number of future History Center exhibitions that will explore rich stories of Minnesota's past. Major exhibitions will center on how Minnesotans have played, the national impact of the 18th Amendment and Prohibition, the Vietnam War experience and its legacy, and professional football and the Vikings. Other exhibitions will highlight the variety of communities in the state and will bring the fascinating collections of the Minnesota Historical Society to public view.
In order to implement its Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund (ACHF) projects, the Minnesota Historical Society employs an ACHF Manager to oversee the program administration. The Society is also supporting administration of the grants program and expanded financial management and administrative functions. The Society is diligently working to keep administrative costs low while adhering to the legislative mandate that costs be "directly related to and necessary for a specific appropriation."
