Behind-the-scenes visit to the Bell Museum
Wed, Feb 8, 2023, 1pm
2088 Larpenteur Avenue West
Saint Paul Campus
Join curator emeritus Don Luce and retired Professor of History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Sally Gregory Kohlstedt for an exclusive behind the scenes visit to the collections of the Bell Museum. Following our visit with Don Luce, we’ll convene at Stouts Pub nearby for refreshments and conversation.
Professor Kohlstedt has for years developed contacts with curators of the most obscure and fascinating collections at the University of Minnesota so that she could introduce her students to these “Cabinets of Curiosity” and we’re delighted that, beginning with this event on February 8, she will make these experiences available to UMRA members. The February event has reach our maximum attendees.
Upcoming visits to UMN “Cabinets of Curiosity”
Look for future invitations to join curious colleagues to visit several significant museums and collections on campus as we talk with curators and explore what’s behind the scenes in their exhibits and collections. While written words have been central to university life, the University of Minnesota has historically acquired meaningful objects in the arts, humanities, and sciences that complement book learning. These material collections are housed on every campus, most are accessible, but many are often largely used by specialists and not highly visible. Individually, these carefully curated objects are fascinating, while collectively they reveal the history and nature of higher education over more than a century.
Behind the curtain at the Bell
For our first outing on February 8 to the Bell Museum, recently retired Curator Don Luce will lead a tour of the museum and perhaps pull back the curtain on objects not currently on display. He was a major figure in moving the collections from the Minneapolis campus to St. Paul and largely responsible for saving the marvelous dioramas that reflect nature in Minnesota nearly a century ago. Himself an artist, Don will discuss the ways in which both art and nature have been integral to our campus natural history museum. To anticipate what we might discuss, see https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/windows-to-nature/.
This is a good opportunity for new and seasoned UMRA members to become better acquainted with each other and the extraordinary resources of the UMN. Participants are invited to meet for refreshments at a location nearby after the tour to discuss what they have seen and consider other collections on campus that might be visited in the future, such as the Wangensteen Library of Medicine and Biological Sciences and the Tretter Collection of LGTBQ+ materials.
Each tour will be limited to no more than 18 people given space limitations at these sites. The February event has reach our maximum attendees, although we look forward to seeing you at a future Cabinets of Curiosity outing.
Participants will be responsible for their own entry and parking fees, and optional food and beverage costs. Entry fee at the Bell Museum is $10 for participants 65+ years of age, or free to members of the museum. The UMRA discount QR code will work at the Bell Museum parking lot, lot 103. After the tour we will gather at Stouts Pub, located at 1611 Larpenteur Ave W, Falcon Heights.
Questions are welcome to Sally Gregory Kohlstedt ([email protected]), Jan Morlock ([email protected]), or Cathy Lee Gierke ([email protected]).
Upcoming Events
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Good Night, Irene by the Mexican-American poet and novelist Luis Alberto Urrea when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom on Friday, March 21.
The U.S. Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John Roberts since 2025 is considered to be the most conservative and activist in history. But it has much in common with the 1963–69 Warren Court, widely viewed as the most liberal and activist. U of M professor of political science and law Timothy R. Johnson will put these claims into perspective as the guest speaker for UMRA’s March 25 brunch forum.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club will discuss The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson when it meets on Friday, March 28, via Zoom. It is a horrifying and compelling read.
The Family History Interest Group meeting on April 2 will feature a presentation by UMRA member Barbara Fifield Brandt (pictured), who will describe how she unlocked the story of her ancestor, Almira Fifield, MD (1833–63), the “lost heroine of Porter County (Indiana)” and one of the first female physicians in the U.S.
The UMRA Hiking Club will explore wildlife along the Mississippi River in Fort Snelling State Park. The 3.9-mile Pike Island Loop is generally considered an easy route and takes just over an hour. Hikers can leave at that point, or stay to add another short loop. The trail is located below the bluff on which the historic fort sits. The last time we were there we saw a lot of deer, and the river always provides fascinating views.
“Geometrical shapes” will be the theme when the UMRA Photo Club will meets on April 8 at the Hennepin County St. Anthony Library in the St. Anthony Village Shops shopping center at New Brighton and St. Anthony Boulevards. For those interested in lunch first, meet at 11:30 a.m. at the Great Dragon Buffet, located across the parking lot from the library.
The University of Minnesota Archives, with its major holdings largely tucked away in two huge underground caverns along the Mississippi River under the West Bank campus, holds the essential records of our University of Minnesota’s past. University Archivist Erik Moore will interpret the holdings and bring out a sampling of what it holds. We will also get a tour of the caverns (Minnesota Library Access Center), revealing where these precious materials are housed, including the original tapes of KUOM, now Radio K.
Would you enjoy gathering with a group of 15-20 other UMRA members to share breakfast and conversation about a specific topic? Then UMRA’s new topical breakfast gatherings at The Original Pancake House in Roseville are for you.
For UMRA’s April 15 Living Well Workshop via Zoom, professor emeritus, author, and Braver Angels co-founder Bill Doherty will share with us what he has learned about overcoming differences in our families and communities in a highly polarized world.
The UMRA Book Club will discuss Random Family by journalist Adrian Nicole LeBlanc when it meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 18, 2025.
The UMRA Hiking Club will welcome guest leaders Bion Beebe and Linda Bjornberg from Twin Cities Hiking Meetup to introduce our group to a “new-to-us” trail on Monday, April 21. We will hike approximately 4 miles at a moderate 17 to 18 mile pace along the Minnesota River to Bass Ponds, a floodplain marsh and premier birding area.
You are cordially invited to see Rick Huebsch, Associate VP for Research, Technology Commercialization at UMN, who will discuss UMN Technology Commercialization. Tech Comm facilitates the transfer of UMN innovation beyond the research lab, to benefit the public good, foster economic growth, and generate revenue to support the University's mission.
UMRA’s Earth Day forum on April 22 will feature a presentation by UMRA member Peter Moe, the recently retired director of the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. He is well known and admired for building an incredibly successful facility and program for the University.
UMRA’s Armchair Traveler program on Wednesday, April 23, will take us to the coast of British Columbia for a month-long cruise and—halfway around the world—to Rwanda, a landlocked country located just a few degrees south of the Equator in East-Central Africa.
The Black Count: Glory and Betrayal by Tom Reiss, published in 2012 and winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in biography, will be the selection for discussion when UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 25. Newcomers are welcome.
Peter Moe, retired Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director and UMRA member, will be leading a hiking tour of the Arboretum again this year. The amazing tulip display was at its peak for our hike last year, and we will undoubtedly enjoy seeing many spring-blooming trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and perennials. Plan to stay for lunch together (optional) after the hike at the Rootstock café in the Oswald Visitor Center.
Do you have a box or several albums of old family pictures that you are not quite sure what to do with? Or perhaps you just want to find out more about your ancestors and are not sure where or how to begin. This meeting of the Family history group will be an open discussion.
We will revisit the University of Minnesota Archives, with its major holdings largely tucked away in two huge underground caverns along the Mississippi River under the West Bank campus, holds the essential records of our University of Minnesota’s past. University Archivist Erik Moore will interpret the holdings and bring out a sampling of what it holds. We will also get a tour of the caverns (Minnesota Library Access Center), revealing where these precious materials are housed, including the original tapes of KUOM, now Radio K.
You are cordially invited to this presentation by Andy Whitman, Professor, Attorney, Volunteer Financial Planner. He will discuss investments for your grandchildren.
In May we will be doing a photo shoot at the Como Conservatory.
.Wood Lake Nature Center is a peaceful 150-acre cattail marsh, woodland, and restored prairie that is a haven for migrating birds and waterfowl. This UMRA hike is a great opportunity for those who would like a shorter, easier hike. The trails are dirt, grass, and woodchip, with some bridges and a bit of paved trails. Only a couple small hills to navigate, the park is mostly flat.