Social Activities

Cabinet of Curiosities: Herbarium Collection

Cabinets of Curiosities will seek out the University of Minnesota Herbarium on the St Paul Campus.  Tim Whifeld, Collections Manager, will share his knowledge of that amazing collection and explain its critical importance in the twenty-first century. Botanists study these pressed plants, individually and collectively, to estsblish a history of plant life, often over centuries, because they contain compelling evidence of the ever modulating geographical distribution of plants and evidence of how climate, pests, and other factors have changed species over time. 

Cabinets of Curiosity: Kerlan Collection

The Kerlan is one of the world’s leading collections of rare books, manuscripts, and original art of children’s literature. It contains the work of more the 1,700 authors and illustrators from the 19th and 20th centuries to today, and it is the founding and largest collection within the University’s Children’s Literature and Research Collections.

Cabinets of Curiosity: Andersen Library Tour at 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. Kristen Mastel, head librarian and curator, will reveal its treasure trove of publications and artifacts relating to plant history, horticulture, and natural history. After the tour, those who are interested may stay to eat lunch together, sitting outside if the weather is nice. Later, you are invited to a one-hour tram tour of the entire Arboretum that includes natural areas of flowering shrubs, bogs, and forests, family garden and landscaping showpieces, and the red barn farm

Mississippi River Cruise Aboard the Jonathan Padelford

Enjoy a two-hour cruise on the Jonathan Padelford, leaving from the Harriet Island dock in St. Paul, boarding time at 5:30 p.m. We will have a brief program on board by Patrick Nunnally from the River Life Program of the Institute on the Environment.

U of M Day at Target Field

Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.

UMRA Summer Social and Picnic

Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!

Cabinets of Curiosity: Spring at the UMN CBS Conservatory

The UMRA Cabinets of Curiosity tour will be at the College of Biological Sciences (CBS) Conservatory & Botanical Collection on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus. The amazing glass-walled greenhouse features four biomes with distinct climates, landscapes, and floras, with particular emphasis on plants of the southern hemisphere. Please plan to join us in this special opportunity to visit spaces not normally open to the public. 

Cabinets of Curiosity: Insect Collection and Natural Resources Library

If you are curious about insects in their astonishing variety, plan to join the UMRA Cabinets of Curiosity to tour the Insect Collection and Natural Resources Library in Hodson Hall.

Winter celebration and songs to bring the light

Join UMRA members at Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville for an afternoon of comradery, food, and entertainment. After an hour of mingling and nosh, the highlight of this mid-winter event will be an hour of song and music by Twin Cities musicians Dane Stauffer and Dan Chouinard.

Prepayment of $35 per person, or $38 after January 5

Cabinets of Curiosity: Goldstein Museum of Design

The material world we live in is shaped by design. While popular discussions of design typically focus on fashion and furniture, design is fundamental in art, architecture, and indeed nearly all aspects of the everyday world around us.  Goldstein Museum of Design curator Jean McElvain will demonstrate and discuss some of the fascinating and often unexpected holdings before we walk through the current gallery exhibit.

Cabinets of Curiosity: James Ford Bell Library

Some of the most valuable and rare maps in the world are held in UMN's own James Ford Bell Library, housed in Andersen Library  See https://www.lib.umn.edu/collections/special/bell .

Mississippi River Cruise Aboard the Minneapolis Queen

Enjoy the golden close of summer on an evening cruise on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis with UMRA friends and colleagues.  The cruise fee includes a taco bar, and there will be a full service cash bar available on the boat.

U of M Day at Target Field

Show your support for the University of Minnesota and the Twins during "U of M Day", in partnership with the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, at Target Field on Saturday, July 22, when the Twins take on the Chicago White Sox at 6:15 p.m.

UMRA Summer Social and Picnic

Event Date: June 28, 2023, at 11:00 AM - June 28, 2023, at 1:30 PM

On Wednesday June 28th, over eighty UMRA members and their guests gathered in the shade of the Como Park pavilion to catch up with old friends and colleagues and welcome new members.  And after lunch, THE QUIZ! Competition was fierce, and merriment abounded.

Behind-the-scenes visit to the Bell Museum

Whether or not you think you've already seen it all at the Bell Museum, join recently retired Curator Don Luce and retired historian and professor of earth sciences Sally Gregory Kohlstedt for an exclusive behind-the-scenes visit to the collections of the Bell Museum. This will be the first in a new UMRA series of visits to several significant museums and collections on campus, to talk with curators and explore their "Cabinets of Curiosity."