Cabinets of Curiosity: Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
Tue, Apr 14, 2026, 10 - 11:30am
Minneapolis MN 55414
If you were one of the nearly 110 UMRA members and friends who attended UMRA’s October 28, 2025, luncheon forum with Damien Fair, co-director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB), you likely left with great curiosity to learn more about the special place founded by Fair, a cognitive neuroscientist, and colleagues.
The institute has its own lovely campus at 2025 East River Parkway in Minneapolis (former home of Shriners Children’s Twin Cities). It is a clinic, research, and outreach center that is home base for collaborative and interdisciplinary work to better understand the developing brain of children and adolescents, and brain health across the life span. It was Fair’s vision that the institute would be a place for breaking down “silos of expertise” and building collaborations to better understand brain development and atypical behaviors.
UMRA members expressed so much interest in the institute during our October forum that Fair offered to host us for a Cabinets of Curiosity visit. We’ll have an opportunity to visit the MIDB campus and talk with faculty and researchers who are involved in some of the 250-plus projects across 80-plus University of Minnesota departments and organizations now associated with the institute.
Participation will be limited, so don’t wait to register for this visit to the Masonic Institute for the Developing brain from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 14. And if your plans change after you register and you cannot attend, be sure to let us know. Cancellations can be done at the UMRA member Portal > My Profile > My event registrations. Or, by contacting the reservationist.
—Jan Morlock, UMRA Social Activities planning group
Upcoming Events
Nanette leads a trail of two cities hike.
10:30 a.m. check in; 10:45 boarding; cruise from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Join UMRA friends and colleagues for a summer cruise and lunch aboard the Paradise Destiny II on beautiful Lake Minnetonka. Paul Maravelas, sailor, historian, and author of The History of Big Island, Lake Minnetonka will join us to share stories from 200+ years of lake-dwellers. Come early or stay after the cruise to explore Excelsior, a charming small town on the big lake.
Ticket price includes lunch: chef's sandwich, garden salad, fruit, chips, and cookies. Coffee, iced tea, and lemonade are complimentary and there will be a cash bar for other beverages. A vegetarian sandwich can be selected during registration.
UMRA’s Book Club I will discuss the debut novel Buckeye by Patrick Ryan when it meets via Zoom at 2 pm. on Friday, August 21.
You are invited to join the discussion of The Cause: The American Revolution and Its Discontents 1773-1783 by Joseph J. Ellis.
The theme for September is "Monuments."
Bev leads a Lake of the Isles hike with Isles Bun & Coffee afterwards.
.
Critical issues facing detained immigrants and their families will be discussed.
UMRA’s September Living Well Workshop will feature Carol Bradford, MD, MS, FACS, interim dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School and interim executive vice president for Health Affairs. She is an internationally recognized cancer surgeon-scientist who also brings considerable leadership and administrative experience.
A 1978 short story collection by American author John Cheever.
Professor Arun Saldanha, the featured speaker for the first luncheon forum of UMRA’s 2026–27 program year, will examine how tourism has evolved in an era shaped by pandemics, climate concerns, and changing global realities; and encourage us to think about what it means to be thoughtful, responsible, and curious travelers.
The architecture in Iceland is as spare as the culture -- honest and simple.
Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers leads the hike at William O'Brien State Park.
Topics include longevity, distributions, long term care, Social Security, and comprehensive planning.
The theme for October is "Hands."
UMRA’s second “Campus Conversation” with a University leader will offer UMRA members an exclusive opportunity to meet with John Morris, president and CEO of the University of Minnesota Foundation. The focus of the conversation will be the role of the foundation and its relationship to retirees.
Jon C leads the hike at Nerstrand Big Woods with lunch afterwards.
.
Discuss long term care options with Fred Andersen.
Bob & Jean Hall and Andy Whitman, participants.