Learn about membership at Hennepin History Museum with our free Member Day. Enjoy refreshments, get a sneak peak of upcoming museum projects, meet new staff, and see what has changed at the museum during the shutdown.
Help us reach our goal of 50 new members! Already a member? Help spread the word—bring a friend with you to the museum and tell them why Hennepin History Museum matters to you!
Schedule of activities (check back for updates!)
10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.: Meet and mingle with John Crippen throughout the day. John has served as executive director of Hennepin History Museum since summer 2019. Previously, he served in various positions with the State Historic Sites Network for the Minnesota Historical Society, including director of Mill City Museum. Hear about his first two years with the museum and ask about his vision for the museum’s future.
10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: Meet our new archivist Michele Pollard and processing archivist Katherine Stotis. Learn about the hidden treasures in our archives and the continuing work Hennepin History Museum is taking to ensure our archives are preserved and accessible for the community long into the future!
11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.: Hear from Greg Donofrio and Denise Pike of the Heritage Studies and Public History Program at the University of Minnesota about our upcoming exhibition Human Toll: A Public History of 35W. The culmination of nearly three years of research, hear first-hand from the project leaders about the process to create this new exhibition. Learn more at humantoll35w.org.
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.: Meet with Linda Koutsky, editor of museum magazine Hennepin History, and hear about her crop art currently featured prominently in Homegrown. Ever the journalist, Linda is scouring our community for the next magazine feature, bring your ideas and your story leads to her directly!
2:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.: Reconnect with museum curator Alyssa Thiede. Alyssa is the designer of our current exhibition Local Heroes. As curator, Alyssa also manages more than 25,000 objects in our 3D collection. Come see the progress made on our Collections Project, learn about some of our upcoming exhibitions in 2021 and 2022, and hear about opportunities for hands-on museum experiences by volunteering with the museum.