Contents
Foreword
Ford W. Bell
Introduction
Bell Museum Timeline
1. A Museum is Born, 1872–1940
Documenting Minnesota: The Geological and Natural History Survey
The Menage Expedition: How Orangutan Bones Landed in the Bell Museum Collections
Josephine Tilden: Paving the Way for Women in Science
T. S. Roberts: Naturalist, Doctor, Director
Making a Museum for the Public: The Early Dioramas
2. Growing an Institution, 1920s–1950s
The Many Talents of Walter Breckenridge
Early Public Education: Reaching “the whole people . . .”
James Ford Bell: The Man Behind the Name
Heyday of the Dioramas: Windows into Nature
Taking Flight: The Artistic Journey of Francis Lee Jaques
3. Wildlife Explorations, 1940s–1980s
At the Poles: Arctic and Antarctic Research
The Bride Wore . . . Boots?
Migrations: The Life and Times of Dwain Warner
Tracking Nature: The Rise of Wildlife Telemetry
Mystery of the Missing Toads
4. The Museum in the Environmental Era, 1960s–1990s
Touch and See: Pioneering Hands-On Learning
Public Programs: From Education to Engagement
Interpreting Nature: The Student Guide Program
From Student Guide to College Professor
Making Movies: Reaching a Bigger Audience
Honeybees on the Roof: Sweetening Science Education
Widening the Inquiry: Bringing together Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Nature vs Nurture: Frank McKinney and the Evolution of Animal Behavior
Minnesota’s Rarest: Naming the State’s Endangered Flora and Fauna
Flight of the Peregrine: Bud Tordoff and the Return of an Endangered Species
Art and Natural History: The Evolution of a Legacy
Science through the Lens of Art: Resident Artists at the Bell
Change Comes to the “Eternal” Museum: Temporary and Traveling Exhibits
5. Rediscovering the Collections, 1980s–2022
Collections offer Clues to Environmental Challenges
A Botanical Treasure: The University of Minnesota Herbarium
The DNA Revolution Comes to the Bell Museum
Re-thinking the Tree of Life
Bell Museum Scientists on the Global Stage
Biodiversity Research: Understanding Life’s Threatened Diversity
100 Years Later: Minnesota Updates its Natural History Survey
Collections Go Online
6. A Museum for the Twenty-first Century, 1990s–2022
Saving an Endangered Museum: Surviving and Thriving in a University Setting
From the Earth to the Cosmos: The Journey of Minnesota’s Planetarium
The Ride of His Life
The Road to a Re-Imagined Museum
Designing with Nature: The Bell Museum’s New Home
Moving Minnesota: Dioramas in a New Habitat
The Experience: A Journey through Time
Afterword
Denise Young
Acknowledgments
Appendixes
The Bell Dioramas
Select Exhibitions at the Bell Museum
Publications of the Bell Museum
Select References
Contributors
Index