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The Bakken Museum

@thebakkenmuseum

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Transforming curiosity into possibility // Minneapolis, MN
Open Tuesday–Thursday, 12–4 p.m. & Friday–Sunday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

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TOMORROW is election day and The Bakken Museum is a polling location! Our museum will be open as normal from 12 - 4 p.m. but be prepared for potential higher traffic due to voting. We're happy to serve our community in their civic duty!

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #sciencemuseum #electionday #pollingplace #voting #vote #pollinglocation #minneapolis #twincities #bdemakaska #minnesota #mn by @thebakkenmuseum

A huge thank you to our sponsors Nextern and the Medtronic Foundation who helped with our fundraising gala Brilliant this year! And a thank you to our other sponsors who also contributed to Brilliant: Citizens Independent Bank, Sightline Productions, HB Fuller, Xcel Energy, US Bank, RSP Architects, Fredrikson and Byron! We appreciate every single one of our sponsors that allow us to continue all the amazing work we do!

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #bakken #sciencemuseum #minneapolis #stem #stemlearning #bdemakaska #brilliant2026 #brilliantfundraiser #fundraiser #sponsors #thankyousponsors #ThankYouSponsorsandDonors by @thebakkenmuseum

Happy Halloween from The Bakken Museum to you! Come stop by to see Frankenstein's Laboratory or our Mary and her monster exhibit! Maybe you'll even see a ghost in the old mansion part of the museum👻 👀👀

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #sciencemuseum #halloween #happyhalloween #spookyseason #spookyscaryskeletons #frankenstein #maryshelley #sciencefiction #scifi #frankensteinsmonster #spooky #ghosts by @thebakkenmuseum

November 12th is the opening of our Lifeforms Residency!
Free admission and open to all ages!
Art and science are, in many cases, inspired by similar motivations: a desire to explore the unexplored and to uncover the hidden patterns and relationships of everyday life. Both stir our passions, provide new lenses through which we view ourselves, and work to understand the universe we inhabit. University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek and the CBS Conservatory and Botanical Collections (@cbsconservatory) , in partnership with The Bakken Museum, have launched a residency program for artists to work alongside academic scientists to create new, visual artistic works.
Join us and our 2026 artist, Emily Victory, to see what providing a unique space to connect with researchers, scientific projects and landscapes, and unusual academic spaces to investigate the intersection of science, nature, and humanity can do.

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #bakken #sciecencemuseum #umn #umntc #stem #stemart #artistredency #artist #exhibitopening #minneapolis #twincities #universityofminnesota by @thebakkenmuseum

Tomorrow is our Tinkering After Dark event! Enjoy spooky season at The Bakken Museum by building your own mini theremin! Step-by-step instructions will be provided along with expert advice from our educators.

General admission includes registration for one participant and one build-your-own theremin kit.

More info on our event calendar

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #spookyseason #theremin #Halloween #spookyscaryskeletons #sciencemuseum #halloweenplans #spookyactivity #halloweenactivity by @thebakkenmuseum

The Bakken Museum will be closed tomorrow for an All Staff Day! We will be back to normal hours Thursday October 29th. We look forward to seeing you all again then! Enjoy these last few days of spooky season!

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #sciencemuseum #minneapolis #twincities #bdemakaska #bakken #stem #stemlearning by @thebakkenmuseum

Our next Vault tour is coming up! Join The Bakken Museum's head curator for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of our state-of-the-art collections vault. Explore a rarely seen area of the museum and discover remarkable artifacts spanning the history of science, medicine, bioengineering, medical technology, and innovation. From historic medical instruments to one-of-a-kind scientific curiosities, you'll get an up-close look at pieces of our collection that are not on public display.

Vault Tours are restricted to ages 18+. Each ticket includes admission to the vault tour as well as general admission to the museum for that date.
Tickets available on our events calendar

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #sciencemuseum #vaulttours #thevault #museumvault #medicaldevices #stem #STEMEducation #medicalequipment by @thebakkenmuseum

Happening Now! In partnership with @thinkingspotus we are hosting our second annual STEM Book Festival. Come by the museum today to enjoy author panels, interact with science writers, and find a new favorite read! To make sure everyone can participate, admission is free for the day! by @thebakkenmuseum

THIS Saturday is our second annual STEM Book Fest!
The event is FREE to all who attend!
STEM Book Fest brings together acclaimed authors, engaging panel discussions, and hands-on opportunities to explore the latest in science, technology, engineering, and math literature. Whether you're a lifelong STEM enthusiast or simply curious to discover something new, you'll find inspiration on every page. Presented by @thinkingspotus

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #sciencemuseum #stem #stembooks #stembookfest #stembooks #bookfestival #authorpanels #literature #stemliterature by @thebakkenmuseum

We are hiring! We have two positions open: Bookkeeper/HR Generalist and Social Media & Marketing Coordinator. For further information about applying, please go to our website! Under the 'About' tab click on 'Careers', we look forward to seeing your applications!

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #sciencemuseum #jobpostings #minnesota #twincities #minneapolis #socialmediamanager #bookkeeper #jobopportunities #jobalert #mn #MNJobs #twincitiesjobseekers #twincitiesjobopenings by @thebakkenmuseum

Looking for a Halloween activity? Come to Tinkering After Dark at The Bakken Museum by building your own mini theremin! Step-by-step instructions will be provided along with expert advice from our educators.

General admission includes registration for one participant and one build-your-own theremin kit. To purchase tickets go to our events calendar on our website!

#thebakkenmuseum #thebakken #bakkenmuseum #halloween #spookyseason #tinkering #theremin #building #diy #datenight #spooktober #spookyscaryskeletons #sciencemuseum #stem #stemlearning #stembuilding #minneapolis #minnesota #twincities #hauntedmansion #halloween #halloweenplans by @thebakkenmuseum

Throughout the past year, we’ve celebrated five decades of innovation, curiosity, and imagining what’s possible. To close out our 50th, we did a little experimenting of our own, capturing The Bakken on film and taking a fresh look at the place we call home.

Experimentation has been part of The Bakken from the beginning. The museum began with the curiosity of Earl Bakken, inventor of the external, battery-operated pacemaker. Since our founding, that curiosity has grown into a place where generations of visitors have come to explore, experiment, discover something new, and see where their ideas might lead.

And what a place it is. The Bakken is full of details that reveal themselves when you slow down and look a little closer.

Gothic and Tudor architecture. Three acres of gardens that feel like something out of a storybook. The intricate woodwork and masonry of West Winds Mansion. Our iconic entrance along Bde Maka Ska, casting colorful light this way and that. Artifacts connected to Benjamin Franklin and Mary Shelley. Bees, butterflies, and koi throughout our grounds. Everywhere you look, there’s something waiting to be discovered.

As we look forward to the next 50 years, we’re grateful for everyone who has been part of The Bakken Museum’s story so far, from the people who helped shape our earliest days to everyone exploring, learning, and creating with us today.

As Earl would say, “What’s next?” A whole lot. Here’s to everything ahead.

Enjoy these photographs, shot on 35mm and Polaroid film by @ribz4lunch by @thebakkenmuseum