Science Museum of Minnesota

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Science Museum of Minnesota
Science Museum of Minnesota front.jpg
USA Minnesota location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Minnesota
Established1907
Location120 W. Kellogg Boulevard, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Coordinates 44°56′33″N93°5′55″W / 44.94250°N 93.09861°W / 44.94250; -93.09861
Type Science museum
President Alison Rempel Brown
Website https://www.smm.org

The Science Museum of Minnesota is a museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, focused on topics in technology, natural history, physical science, and mathematics education. Founded in 1907, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution has 385 employees [1] and is supported by volunteers. [2]

Contents

History

A group of businessmen led by Charles W. Ames established the museum in 1906 with the aim to promote intellectual and scientific growth in St. Paul. Initially known as the St. Paul Institute of Science and Letters, it was initially housed at the St. Paul Auditorium on Fourth Street. A brief merger with the St. Paul School of Fine Arts (now the Minnesota Museum of American Art) occurred in 1909. [3] [4]

In 1927, the museum relocated to Merriam Mansion on Capitol Hill, which had previously been Colonel John Merriam's residence. This location offered increased exhibit storage space. Due to the museum's continued growth, it moved to the St. Paul-Ramsey Arts and Sciences Center at 30 East Tenth Street in 1964. In 1978, the museum expanded into a new area on Wabasha Street between 10th and Exchange Streets via a skyway connection, allowing for additional exhibit space and the addition of an IMAX Dome (OMNIMAX) cinema. [3]

In the early 1990s, plans for a new facility, adjacent to the Mississippi River, were formed with architecture firm Ellerbe Becket. [5] With aid from public funding initiatives, the new museum broke ground on May 1, 1997, and opened on December 11, 1999. During the move, 1.75 million artifacts were transported. [6]

In the early 2000s, the museum hosted several exhibits, including BODY WORLDS ; Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs; Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination ; Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship; and The Science Behind Pixar. It also added several films to its production roster, including Jane Goodall’s Wild Chimpanzees; Tornado Alley; National Parks Adventure; and Ancient Caves, and it built its exhibit production portfolio with exhibits like Robots + Us; A Day in Pompeii; RACE: Are We So Different?; Maya: Hidden Worlds Revealed; SPACE: An Out of Gravity Experience; and Sportsology. The museum continues to provide exhibit development, design, and production services for other museums. [7]

Resident exhibits

The "electro-meta graph machine" on display in the Quackery Hall of Fame Electro-metabograph machine.jpg
The "electro-meta graph machine" on display in the Quackery Hall of Fame
The Triceratops, a composite mount of two animals nicknamed "Fafnir" SMM Triceratops.jpg
The Triceratops , a composite mount of two animals nicknamed "Fafnir"

Offerings change frequently, but several exhibits are always on display:

Facilities

Omnitheater

The Mississippi riverfront facility has a convertible dome IMAX theater. With both a wall screen for IMAX films and other flat-screen presentations and a rotating dome for viewing IMAX dome presentations, it was the first convertible theater in the northern hemisphere. The counterweights for the system were so massive that they had to be put in place before the rest of the building. When it opened in 1999, the theater boasted "the largest permanently installed electronic cinema projector in the world", an advanced computer system to coordinate the theater's facilities, and a complex sound system to accommodate both viewing formats.

In summer 2019, the Omnitheater briefly closed to convert to digital laser technology. In October 2019, it reopened as the world's third-largest digital laser IMAX dome theater.

The museum is a leading producer of giant screen films, including:

The theater was briefly closed in early 2014 to repair a leaky roof. [9]

Mississippi River Visitor Center

Inside the museum's lobby is the National Park Service Visitor Center for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, which is free of charge. Mississippi River exhibits and National Park Rangers are available to help people learn about and experience the river. The visitor center is also equipped with resources to plan trips to any of the more than 390 national parks.[ citation needed ]

Center for Research and Collections

The Science Museum's Center for Research and Collections staff maintain a collection of over 1.7 million artifacts, objects, and specimens and conduct research in biology, paleontology, anthropology, water quality, and climate change. They also conduct outreach with museum visitors, school groups, fellow researchers, and the general public. The museum’s collections are held in a storage vault. Items include dinosaurs and other fossils, preserved animals and plants, and cultural artifacts from extinct and extant civilizations. Researchers visit the vault to take advantage of the collection, but it is not open to regular museum visitors except during special events.

St. Croix Watershed Research Station

The St. Croix Watershed Research Station, in Marine-on-St. Croix, Minnesota, is part of the Science Museum’s Center for Research and Collections. [10] It is the museum’s headquarters for a team of scientists who study water around the world.

Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center

The Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center (KAYSC) is an informal learning environment for young people. [11]

IDEAL Center

The museum is also home to the IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access and Leadership) Center, [12] which has transformed from a primary professional development resource for educators in the state to a center that offers leadership development training to school districts, universities, and informal education organizations throughout the country.

Special exhibitions

The museum hosts several special exhibitions a year, with past exhibitions having included:

Memberships

The Science Museum of Minnesota is a member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of Children’s Museums, and the Giant Screen Cinema Association. It is a founding member of NISE Net and participates in NanoDays .

Education

The museum has an extensive STEM learning division. In addition to its summer camp and field trip programs, museum educators also visit schools throughout the region. The museum has a consistent track record of serving students and teachers in all 87 Minnesota counties each year through field trips, classroom residencies, and large-group assemblies on topics from water to engineering. [13] Summer camps serve hundreds of students each year, addressing science, technology, nature, and art themes.

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References

  1. ↑ "Science Museum of Minnesota Number of Employees, Statistics, Diversity, Demographics, and Facts - Zippia". www.zippia.com. 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  2. ↑ "About the Museum". Science Museum of Minnesota. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 "About the Museum". Science Museum of Minnesota. Archived from the original on 2014-03-23.
  4. ↑ "Timeline: The long, twisty journey of the Minnesota Museum of American Art". Star Tribune. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  5. ↑ "Art needs Nature". Archived from the original on 2023-11-15.
  6. ↑ "Behind The Scenes At The Science Museum Of Minnesota". CBS Minnesota. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Exhibit Services". Science Museum of Minnesota. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  8. ↑ Erickson, Bruce. "History of the Wannagan Creek Expeditions 1970 – 1996" (PDF). Science Museum Minnesota. 6.
  9. ↑ "Science Museum repairs leaky Omnitheater roof". St. Paul Pioneer Press. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "St. Croix Watershed Research Station". Science Museum of Minnesota. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  11. ↑ "Kitty Andersen Youth Science Center". Science Museum of Minnesota. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  12. ↑ "IDEAL Center". Science Museum of Minnesota. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  13. ↑ "Statewide School Initiative" (PDF). www.senate.mn. State of Minnesota Environment, Economic Development, and Agriculture Budget Division. 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  14. ↑ Harlow, Tim (8 November 2017). "Sales of 'Stranger Things' hoodie overwhelm Science Museum of Minnesota website". Star Tribune . Retrieved 19 November 2017.
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