The Hennepin History Museum offers a series of rotating exhibits focusing on everything from historic toys to technology; each exhibition is designed to reflect a piece of the Hennepin County story.
Current exhibits in the galleries are:
Downtown: a photographic memoir
Runs through December 20, 2009
Northern Son:
The life and work of Hennepin County Artist Carl Boeckmann
Runs until September 6, 2010
Gone Fishing: Vacation Days in Hennepin County
Runs through October 25, 2009
The Century of the Child
Permanent Exhibition
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Downtown: a photographic memoir
This exhibition will display historic images from around Hennpin County's
many downtowns. From the skyline of a Minneapolis that is no longer
recognizable to the bustling Main street of Hopkins on a Saturday
night, you will find an image that will catch you by surprise.
Come for the Foshay, stay for the Opera House.
Gone Fishing: Vacation Days in Hennepin County
This exhibition looks at vacations and leisure time in Hennepin County from 1860 to the 1950s. You will have the opportunity to view such artifacts as early fishing lures, wool swimsuits, original theme park plans, items from our Northwest Airlines collection, and a bit of the unexpected. Come find out what you didn't know about travel and leisure time in Hennepin County.
Northern Son:
The life and work of Hennepin County Artist Carl Boeckmann
Carl Ludwig Boeckmann, with his fiery red beard and flowing tie,
He was born in Christiania Norway on 29 jANUARY 1867. In
1905, at the age of 38, he settled permanently in Hennepin County
but continued his painting travels around the country. In keeping
with his position as the custodian of the traditions of the old world,
Boeckmann painted an amazing number of Norwegian seamen and
scenes. This Hennepin History Museum exhibition will showcase a
selection of pieces from private collections as well as Boeckmann's
signature portrait of John Sargent Pillsbury, from The Hennepin
History Museum's permanent collection. Several of Boeckmanns
local landscape's such as Minnehaha Falls and sites around Lake
Minnetonka will also be on view.
The Century of the Child
This Hennepin History Museum exhibition looks at growing up in Hennepin County through a series of “time stations” that examine educating, entertaining, dressing, and putting children to work. You will see how these things impacted a century of kids and shaped the world we live in today. This exhibit will look at everything from rolling hoops to the hula hoops…
You will also glimpse the darker side of Hennepin County through subjects such as child labor, abuse, and the notorious baby farms that proliferated in Hennepin County at the turn of the 20th Century.
This unique exhibition will be a presentation of children’s daily life seldom seen elsewhere.