Cabinets of Curiosity: Andersen Library Tour at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Tue, Sep 10, 2024, 10:30am
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Autumn is a wonderful season in Minnesota so plan to join UMRA at the Andersen Horticultural Library at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum for our next Cabinets of Curiosity tour in September. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history even as this special collection celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Synder building this year. The reading and research library includes rare books, botanical wall charts, illustrations, and one of the largest collections of vintage seed catalogues in the country. We will also experience its specially constructed Nakashima furniture, rare but fully in use in the main reading room.
After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together in the Arboretum's new restaurant, Rootstock, sitting outside if the weather is nice. In the afternoon, UMRA members may elect to join a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum at 1:30 ($8) that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm; alternatively, members may choose to walk through special flower displays and exhibits near the main building.
Please register soon if you want to join us at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum on September 10, 2024, from 10:30 am until noon. We do need to have all registrations no later than September 4 - and often the limited spaces for these events fill well before the deadline. We will then open a waitlist.
Our group will be admitted (with parking) at no charge, but a donation that day would be a nice gesture of thanks. You will receive an email with final instructions.
Because this venue is in Chaska, Cathy Lee Gierke ([email protected]) will coordinate carpooling for those who want to ride or can accommodate passengers – so let her know of your interest. If you cannot join us this time, watch for more tours in coming months, including a visit to the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature on November 13, 2024. We do need to have all registrations no later than September 4 - and often the limited spaces for these events fill well before the deadline.
Questions? Contact Sally Gregory Kohlstedt ([email protected]), Jan Morlock ([email protected]), or Cathy Lee Gierke ([email protected]).
Upcoming Events
Learn about writing memoirs, technology for seniors, campus architecture, and more at the fourth annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held in the McNamara Alumni Center on the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis on Monday, June 23.
Professor Kathryn Pearson will be a special guest at the UMRA breakfast in June. This will be an opportunity to hear Professor Pearson’s perspective on President Trumps’s first 100 days, and to engage in discussion about what we, as individual citizens, can do in these challenging times for democracy.
Catch up with friends and former colleagues, meet new UMRA members, enjoy delicious food, and participate in the third annual UMRA Summer Social Quiz at the Como Lakeside Pavilion in St. Paul on Wednesday, June 25.
H is for Hawk: A Memoir on Grief and Falconry by Helen Macdonald, published 2016.
The UMRA Hiking Club will hike two wonderful county parks in Monticello, MN on Monday, July 7. Lynn Anderson will lead the hikes and we will meet at her home at 9:30 a.m. and carpool from there.
Our July 14 "hike" is a kayaking adventure on Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles led by Barb Friedman and Bev Moe.
The UMRA Book Club will discuss Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid when it meets via Zoom on July 18.
Bill Doherty's April Living Well Workshop, Dealing with differences in a polarized world, inspired many UMRA members. He has very graciously agreed to hold a Skills for Disagreeing Better workshop for us in July. You will learn about the values and concerns of the other political side and practice skills for communicating more effectively in the presence of disagreement.
Still Life by Louise Penny.
Join hike leader Nanette Hanks on August 4th for a “Trail in Two Cities” hike.
The UMRA Book Club will discuss Blue Ribbon by Karal Ann Marling when it meets via Zoom on August 15.
Join Larry Micek, hike leader, on August 18th for a hike at Lake Elmo Park Reserve, located at 1515 Keats Avenue North, Lake Elmo, MN.
You are invited–join other UMRA members and friends for a late summer river cruise, this year on the Saint Croix River, departing from Stillwater Riverboat Company dock. Our lovely 2.5 hour private charter cruise on the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway includes lunch, a cash bar, and the excellent company of friends and colleagues.
Daytrip Stillwater in the afternoon with friends! Make a day of it.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.