All Projects

Research shows that few young people receive a high-quality social studies education, despite the key role social studies plays in preparing students for civic life. Active and responsible citizens identify and analyze public problems, respectfully deliberate with others, take constructive action together, reflect on their actions, and influence institutions. We support young people in developing the knowledge, skills and motivation to participate as invested stakeholders in civic life.

A classical China garden features stone: mini-mountains, poetic tablets, part of a painting. Nine art stones for the China Friendship Garden will amplify Chinese, Hmong & Native voices with form and calligraphy that sing out identity, honor icons, and display messages of cultural curators. This topography of talent will be unveiled in a cultural celebration, generate cultural guides and docents; become a destination for students of all ages; and affirm intercultural collaboration in Minnesota.

Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow Minnesota Children's Museum to bring our mission to life by creating new dynamic experiences at the museum in St. Paul and engaging communities across the state in playful learning.

Legacy-funded programs at the Minnesota Humanities Center demonstrate our determination to collaboratively create humanities programs for the broader public by forging strong partnerships with local, state, and national cultural organizations. These programs show the broader community how the humanities can be used to address issues important to their everyday lives. Each activity, event, and program shares an Absent Narrative with participants, which help residents across the state engage in a more sophisticated understanding of their community. 

The Civics Education Coalition will create opportunities for students, enrich teacher capacity to engage students, and build state-wide networks. Work will include an interactive website, online youth summit, youth conference, new lessons for educators, teacher institutes, and expansion of the statewide Civic Education Network and its activities.

The model for Minnesota bluegrass has changed from attending stage shows to community involvement. Once a part of Country Music, it became allied with the folk music revival, and the repertoire changed. Eleven experienced bluegrass music participants were interviewed who reflect on the evolution of Minnesota Bluegrass music, as well as the changes in how the music is accessed. The interviews reveal specifics of the structure of bluegrass performance, business and sociability as they evolved from the end of WWII to the current scene.

To enable public access through a website on the Minnesota Civil War Sesquicentennial.

Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow us to pursue three major initiatives between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020:

Year 1: Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow us to identify and plan a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) exhibit experience, design and develop the exhibit, select a fabrication partner, and fabricate the exhibit components between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. The STEM exhibit will be designed to help children practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Minnesota Statutes from 1982-1996 were scanned and with the help of OCR (optical character recognition) software, were made available and searchable on the Revisor's office pages of the Minnesota legislature's web site. This is the first phase of the scanning Minnesota Statutes project.

This online availability improves access to legal materials, previously available only through books. Online versions of the statutes also serve as a preservation method for these records.

The Minnesota Statutes from the earliest territorial days of 1851 to the more recent 1981 are important historical documents which capture the development and governance history of our state.  Statutes from the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's are still relevant today for living persons, especially in reference to persons with criminal convictions.  Whether the individual looking for an archived statute is interested because of direct relevance, or more indirect historical relevance, it is important that these historical documents be accessible to the public and preserved for future g

HCHS added 29 standard Minnesota history titles to broaden public accessibility to historical resources. The grant was noted in HCHS's newsletter and in four county newspaper press releases.

To hire a qualified consultant to research the history of Minnesota newspapers, in preparation for a future exhibit.

Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow us to pursue three major initiatives between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016: 1) Offer special exhibits and programs promoting creative and critical thinking in our main museum in St. Paul; 2) A Pop-up satellite Museum at the Mall of America featuring four changing exhibits to attract thousands of new visitors; and 3) Changing exhibits and access at Minnesota Children’s Museum-Rochester to ensure inclusive family experiences for the Rochester community. Recipient:

Minnesota Youth in Government (YIG) is a youth-led experience that engages middle and high school youth in democratic governing leadership. Students learn about government process and gain an understanding of local, state, national and international concerns. They research and debate, participate in model Assemblies, United Nations, Youth Conferences on National Affairs, retreats and trainings, and National Judicial Competition, and gain an appreciation of diverse viewpoints in respectful ways.

We Are Water MN is a traveling exhibition and community engagement initiative that emerged from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street project. Continued by MHC and several state partners, six greater Minnesota communities (Spicer, St. Peter, Red Wing, Sandstone, Lanesboro, and Detroit Lakes) hosted the exhibit in 2016-2017, and eight communities hosted the exhibit in 2018-2019 (Saint Paul, Bemidji, Crookston, Cloquet, Austin, Northfield, Grand Rapids, and Onamia).

Arts and Cultural Heritage funding will allow us to pursue three major initiatives between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017: (1) Offer special exhibits and programs promoting creative & critical thinking in our main museum in St. Paul. (2) A Pop-up satellite Museum at the Mall of America featuring four changing exhibits to attract thousands of new visitors. (3) Changing exhibits and access at Minnesota Children’s Museum-Rochester to ensure inclusive family experiences for the Rochester community.

To hire a qualified museum consultant to create a detailed exhibit concept for a traveling exhibit about northwestern Minnesota's fur trade history.

To further the affiliation between Mitchell Hamline and Hamline University with a partnership for the initial development of the MHSL History Center and meaningful public programming.

199 issues of the monthly periodicals, The Student and The Mankatonian, from Mankato state Normal School (1888-1913) were digitzed to preserve them and make them more readily available to researchers, geneologists and the MN public at large.

Digitized copies were placed in the University Archives Digital Collections at Minnesota State University, Mankato and at the MN Reflections site as part of the Minnesota Digital Library.

To document in oral history interviews the history of migrants and music on East Lake Street, Minneapolis.

A National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) Nomination was prepared and submitted for the Charles Thompson Memorial Hall located in St. Paul, MN. The Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans (MCDHH) hired two qualified professional historical consultants to prepare the nomination.