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:
Icons for the Bereaved: traditions and artifacts of mourning
Runs through May, 2010
Downtown: a photographic memoir
Runs through December 20, 2009
Hennepin County Goes to the Movies
Opens January 10, 2010
The Century of the Child
Permanent Exhibition
To view our Calendar of Events page, please follow the link...
Icons for the Bereaved: Traditions and Artifacts of Mourning
The current exhibit at the Hennepin History Museum (ends May 2010) gives patrons, guests and visitors a chance to examine something we sometimes forget: While traditions of the past might seem strangely different, people will always be the same. Then…as now…people want to honor and remember loved ones. The post-mortem photograph collection of Caitlin Karolzac is featured as a highly intriguing addition to the exhibition, as are Caitlin’s paintings, one of which debuted at the exhibitions opening reception. Also on display are furnishings, mourning garments and jewelry from the museum’s collection, these artifacts from 1850 to now, show how mourning traditions have evolved over the decades. The museum presents the answers to such questions as why did people wear black for a year, and how did the expression of grief evolve in both Europe and America? This exhibit will bring you close-up to one of life’s most intimate topics; death.
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.
Hennepin County Goes to the Movies This exhibition looks at the movie theatres of Hennepin County through
photographs, newspaper coverage, and artifacts. The exhibition will be
set against a backdrop of vintage movie magazines from the stunning
private collections of Hennepin County collector Paul Johnson.
Join us in enjoying this visual feast!
Runs through spring 2010.
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.