Collections Gallery Fact sheet

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WHAT

Collections Gallery

WHERE

Science Museum of Minnesota, level 4
120 West Kellogg Boulevard,
Downtown St. Paul

WHY

The 7,000-square-foot Collections Gallery is filled with a "greatest hits" selection of treasures from the Science Museum's 1.75 million-object collection, including the Egyptian mummy, the authentic Hmong house, the seven-foot diameter Douglas-fir "tree cookie," Emily, the two-headed turtle, birds of prey, selections from the collection of Questionable Medical Devices, and an array Native American art and artifacts. Additionally, visitors can take a trip through time to investigate the Science Museum's 100-year history and see how different generations' interests shaped the museum's vast collection.

EXHIBIT HIGHLIGHTS

Collectors' Corner: At the counter in the Collectors' Corner, visitors can bring in their own natural objects – like rocks, pinecones, and shells – and trade them for objects brought in by other visitors or provided by the museum. The more visitors know about the objects they're trading, the more points they earn toward future trades. More than 12,500 traders have stopped by the Collectors Corner since the Science Museum opened its new facility in 1999, trading more than 40,000 items! For more information, visit the Collectors' Corner website at www.smm.org/visit/collectorscorner.

Museum History: Visitors cross a turn-of-the-century threshold into a tour of the museum's 100-year history. Photo murals and traditional displays transport them to the museum's beginnings in the St. Paul Auditorium and its early years in the Merriam House. Learn how the museum acquired its mummy amid the "Egypt craze" of the 1920s. Find out how the Board of Directors once took a safari trip to Africa to bring back animal specimens for the museum. See video footage of Science Museum paleontologist Bruce Erickson's discovery of the signature Triceratops. Most of all, think about how our culture's standards and practices have changed with changing times.

Hmong Daily Life: Visitors can step inside a traditional Hmong house, built by Hmong elders in the Twin Cities and moved into the Collections Gallery. Plus, see the tools they used to create it. Try on traditional Hmong clothing and check out Hmong musical instruments. Learn the stories of Hmong living in contemporary Minnesota through beautiful and intricate story cloths, and hear Hmong elders and young people relate the challenges of moving their families to the United States.

"Cry of the Eagle" exhibit: This display features birds of prey and an array of Native American head dresses, staffs, hats, masks, shields, beaded bandolier bags, and pottery vessels. Visitors can learn why feathers and Thunderbird icons figure prominently in the work of Native American artists, and can explore the relationship between Native American sacred, cultural, and religious practices and images of eagles and eagle feathers.

Live Demonstrations: Museum volunteers help visitors learn more about natural dyes, stone tools, beadwork, birds of prey, pelts, skulls and scat, paper cutting, calligraphy, rope making, and wool spinning.

Seacoast Fossils from South Carolina: Visitors can examine highlights from paleontologist Bruce Erickson's years of research along South Carolina's coastal regions. This startling collection of 28-million-year-old creatures includes a 22-foot-long crocodile, a dugong (sea cow), a pseudodontorn, a giant sea turtle, a huge fossil whale, and micro fossils picked from sediment found near the large specimens.

The People's Loom: Kids and adults alike love to pull the hand-dyed wool from huge barrels and try their hands at traditional weaving at this super-sized loom. This fun, hands-on activity gives visitors a greater appreciation for some of the intricately woven artifacts displayed in the surrounding gallery.

Selections from the Questionable Medical Devices collection: The Science Museum of Minnesota's Questionable Medical Devices display gives visitors a peek at machines from the past 100 years that were designed to "cure" what ails the average human. In some cases, these failed remedies were honest mistakes, but many others were deliberate frauds. Visitors will see the phrenology machine (which makes conclusions about personality based on the bumps on patients' heads), the Orgone Energy Accumulator (which claims to charge the biological batteries), and other gizmos reputed to reverse, correct, or stimulate any number of real and imagined health concerns.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Janine Hanson, PR Director, (651) 221-9423
Sarah Imholte, PR Coordinator, (651) 221-9412