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Bell Museum

@bellmuseum

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Journey through time & space in our museum & planetarium. Part of the University of Minnesota

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Visit us this October 🍂 Visitors admire a woolly mammoth exhibit at the Bell Museum. by @bellmuseum

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17 days ago

We’re thrilled to share that Curatorial Research Associate Samantha (Sam) Getty has been selected as a recipient of the 2026 Research Technical Staff Award!

This award recognizes staff for their service to @UMNTwinCities research community and celebrates exemplary leadership that positively impacted their colleagues and advanced the University’s mission.

Originally hired to support the Salvage Wildlife project, Getty's role has grown into so much more. She has developed a vibrant training program for undergraduate students, brought her infectious enthusiasm to countless outreach events, and built a community in the scientific collections.

Learn more about Getty and her career at the Bell in our recent blog post. Find it at the link in our bio. A person is smiling and wearing a Bell Museum shirt. A text overlay says, "Curatorial Research Associate Samantha Getty receives a 20286 Research Technical Staff Award." by @bellmuseum

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2 days ago

Before learning about ancient adaptations in gar, dinosaurs, and microbes —> AFTER learning about ancient adaptations in gar, dinosaurs, and microbes. Thanks to everyone who made our Petri Dish discussion at Urban Growler so engaging last night: panelists Trinity Hamilton, Solomon David, and Pete Makovicky, moderator Kieran McNulty, and all the biology enthusiasts who turned out. See you for our next Petri Dish event in November, check the link in our bio for more information and tickets! by @bellmuseum

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3 days ago

Our next Star Party is tomorrow, October 16 — see you there? 👀

Join us for an evening of astronomical fun! Outside, we’ll have our telescopes set up to observe our favorite deep space objects (weather permitting). Inside, our expert astronomy team will guide you through the night sky and highlight cosmic sights in our planetarium and you can explore different hands-on activities.

At this star party, we’ll be exploring the world of Roman — NASA’s next space telescope that will investigate dark energy, exoplanets, and more! The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is slated to launch in late summer 2026 — if all goes well, we might even have initial data from it!

Learn more at the link in our bio.

Video description: The video is a montage of various clips taken at a Star Party. The clips include scenes of people watching planetarium shows, looking through telescopes, and talking as they engage in hands-on activities. by @bellmuseum

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3 days ago

Crisp leaves & careful transects 🍁. Professor and Bell Museum Science Director George Wieblen led his Minnesota Flora class to the Bell Museum’s learning landscape for some interactive learning this week. Two students hold a measuring tape in a prairie. taken in Bell Museum by @bellmuseum

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4 days ago

There are many different ways to document plant biodiversity, including botanical illustrations, herbarium specimens, and… costumes?

We invite you to try your hand at botanical illustration during our next Sketch-In: Beavers and Botanicals on October 14, 5:30–8:30 pm! Gather inspiration from the new exhibition, Wild Beauty: The Botanical Art of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium. Then, spend some time sketching plant or mammal specimens using our materials or your own. The evening will include artist-led tours and painting demonstrations from Dana Boyle, Ronda Dick, and Marilyn Garber.

Learn more at the link in our bio.

Thanks to our friends at the @umnhortlib for being part of this video!🌹

Video description: Two people stand in front holding objects that cover someone's face. One person is holding a botanical illustration, the other is holding an herbarium specimen. They slowly move the objects away to reveal a person dressed as a rose and wearing a colorful costume. by @bellmuseum

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7 days ago

🐝🎶 Join us Sunday, October 11 at 4:30pm at the Bell Museum for a musical experience highlighting @msp_lter and @umncbs research into the urban environment where we live, work, and play.

"The Urban Ecosystem: Music Inspired by the Nature of Cities" is a collaboration between Seattle-based composer Jessi Harvey @jessiharveymusic, the Twin City’s own 10th Wave Chamber Music Collective @10thwavemusic, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Long-Term Ecological Research (MSP LTER) Program housed at the University of Minnesota. Through live music and accompanying visuals, explore how plants, animals, and humans interact with each other in the lakes, forests, and grasslands that make up our local, urban ecosystem. 🎵🦋

Tickets & more info at: bellmuseum.umn.edu/events taken in Bell Museum by @bellmuseum

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7 days ago

But really, we love specimens of all ages! 🐦‍⬛ 🐀 🌿 🐟 🐞

Each specimen is a sample from a specific time and place and holds a wealth of information. With each specimen, we are building a database that shows how our environment changes across space and time. Preserving these collections ensures that they can be used to address future challenges and answer novel questions.

Newly collected specimens record valuable information about today’s environment, while older specimens can be examined in new ways as technologies develop. In 100 years, we will likely have new technologies that can reveal information about the specimens we collect today!

Video description: Text overlayed on the top of the video reads, "Our reaction when you tell us the age of the specimen." On the bottom, a number increases from 1 to 150. A person wearing a Bell Museum shirt reacts to each age with a variety of facial expressions that suggest happiness, joy, and stress. by @bellmuseum

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8 days ago

This week, we celebrated the fantastic artists who contributed to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium — now on display in the temporary exhibition Wild Beauty!

This exhibition features 111 watercolor illustrations that capture the intimate details of the beautiful wild plants at the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden. Created by artists of the Minnesota School of Botanical Art, the project carries on a tradition of botanical illustration that brings together art and science.

Thank you to everyone who joined us! 🌸 🌺 🌼

Video description: The video is a montage of a recent event at the Bell Museum. The clips depict crowds throughout the Bell Museum during the event, a group of people in colorful flower costumes, and conversations between people as they look at botanical illustrations. by @bellmuseum

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9 days ago

Happy University of Minnesota Alumni Day! The Bell Museum is a proud part of the @UMNTwinCities and many of our current staff, researchers, and volunteers were once University of Minnesota students. Meet some of them here! #UMNProud A mascot with a large head, wearing a University of Minnesota jersey, is looking through a magnifying glass at a display in the Bell Museum. The text reads, "University of Minnesota Alumni Day at the Bell Museum. by @bellmuseum

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10 days ago

🐝🎶THIS WEEK on October 8 and 11: Join us at the Bell Museum for a musical experience highlighting @msp_lter and @umncbs research into the urban environment where we live, work, and play.

Begin the evening with conversations and hands-on activities with MSP LTER (Minneapolis-St. Paul Long Term Ecological Research Program) researchers. Then hear the new composition "The Urban Ecosystem: Music Inspired by the Nature of Cities"—a collaboration Seattle-based composer Jessi Harvey @jessiharveymusic, the Twin City’s own 10th Wave Chamber Music Collective @10thwavemusic, and the MSP LTER. Through live music and accompanying visuals, explore how plants, animals, and humans interact with each other in the lakes, forests, and grasslands that make up our local, urban ecosystem. 🎵🦋

Tickets & more info at: bellmuseum.umn.edu/events

Performances:
- October 8 (Doors open at 6pm, concert starts at 7pm)
- October 11 (Doors open at 4:30pm, concert starts at 5:30pm) A bee and butterfly talking about a musical performance. taken in Bell Museum by @bellmuseum

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11 days ago

🐝🎶Join us at the Bell Museum on October 8 or 11 for a musical experience highlighting @umncbs and @msp_lter research into the urban environment where we live, work, and play.

"The Urban Ecosystem: Music Inspired by the Nature of Cities" is a collaboration between Seattle-based composer Jessi Harvey ( @jessiharveymusic ), the Twin City’s own 10th Wave Chamber Music Collective ( @10thwavemusic ), and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Long-Term Ecological Research (MSP LTER) program housed at the University of Minnesota.

Through live music and accompanying visuals, explore how plants, animals, and humans interact with each other in the lakes, forests, and grasslands that make up our local, urban ecosystem. 🎵🦋

Tickets & more info at: bellmuseum.umn.edu/events

Performances:
- Thursday, October 8 at 6pm
- Sunday, October 11 at 4:30pm An adult and two kids looking for bugs in a pond as part of an event flyer. taken in Bell Museum by @bellmuseum

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13 days ago