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Causes: Arts & Culture, Historical Societies & Historic Preservation
Mission: The stearns history museum connects people to the power of history and culture by collecting, preserving, and interpreting our historical and cultural resources. The stearns history museum will be a place where citizens of central minnesota can honor their diverse history and recognize that the past is what built the present and is a road map to the future. In 2017 programs service accomplishments reflected four key areas that relate directly to the museum's mission. A. ) educational servicesb. ) museum exhibitions and collectionsc. ) archival and research servicesd. ) museum operations
Programs: Exhibits:- long term exhibits: -artifind: exhibit based on the children's book and computer game series "i spy. " -on solid ground: newly renovated exhibit that tells the story of the granite industry and its impact on the growth of central minnesota. -pan motor company: sam pandolfo's automobile manufacturing company designed and built an automobile in the st. Cloud community in 1917 - 1919. His story is one of success and failure. On exhibit is a rare 1919 pan automobile, one of only ten in existence. -flowing through time: stearns county in 1855 was a pristine wilderness with multiple ecosystems. As settlers came resources were needed to sustain the growing population. Today citizens are making difficult choices to ensure the sustainability of those resources and they continue to provide a clean environment for citizens of the future. - temporary exhibits: -"auf wiedenshen, but not goodbye: stearns county and wwi": this exhibit explores the tumuitous time through artifacts and images and draws heavily from the words of stearns county residents who served in the armed forces in wwi. -"navigating the 70's": paired with a traveling exhibit from the smithonian institution traveling exhibits department, "searching for the 70's," the exhibit looks at stearns county during the 70's. Clothing, memorabilia, toys, music, and furniture are the cornerstones of the exhibit.
musuem operations: the museum worked with the local stearns county historical organizations to provide grants and expertise in collections care, exhibit design, archival care, and management. Those museums are cold spring area historical society, kimball area historical society, melrose area historical society, paynesville area historical society, haehn museum, sauk center area historical society, sinclair lewis foundation, and st. Joseph area historical society. - the museum continues to be a polling site for national and local elections. - 40 volunteers contributed 2,324 hours to the museum in 2017.
archival and research services: research, publication, and archival services are provided in conjunction with public programming that encourages an understanding of and appreciation for local and state history. Over 48,000 biographical/subject files, maps, photographic images, archives/manuscript collections, library books, and oral histories are listed on the museum's library catalog, which is accessed on its website.
educational services. The stearns history museum conducts public programming that interprets the history of stearns county and minnesota. Schools, families, and individuals use the museum to better understand and appreciate local & state history and their place in it. School tours and summer programming: - shm provides tours and program for k-university students. Programs include archeology, environmental studies, and subsistence farming. Summer programming for students featured gardening and healthy eating. This is a partnership with the minnesota extension agency master gardeners. Family programming:- halloween historia - an annual family program with a halloween theme. Families are introduced to the history and the exhibit gallery through halloween games. Attendance averages 650 people. - kringle fest - an annual holiday event featuring crafts, st. Nicholas, and holiday traditions. Adult programming:- breakfast club - monthly speaker series, averaging 80 attendees per month, that brings both contemporary and historic issues that have or are facing stearns county and minnesota residents. Topics such as refugess, historic preservation, and farming are discussed. - century farm program - stearns county has the largest recognized century farms in minnesota. The program began in 1975. There are over 485 century famrs that have been recognized by the stearns history museum in stearns county. - memory writers - a group of writers share and critique stories they have written about their family history. Memory writers meets twice a month. - quilters group - area quilters gather september - may at the museum to work on quilt restoration projects.