MUSEOLOGY

Museology strives, through passion and partnerships, to create unique opportunities to explore history for all ages, abilities, and experience. Bret, Erin, & Larry love doing what they do each day, long walks on the beach, and dinosaurs.

[hclib]

Minnesota Commission of Public Safety

100 years ago, on April 23, 1917, the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety held its first meeting. The commission, established two weeks after the United States entered World War I, was given broad powers to ensure the protection of persons and property, the defense of the state and the nation, and the application of the state’s resources to “successful prosecution” of the war.

The commission was comprised of the governor, the attorney general and five members selected by the governor. The excessive power granted to the commission resulted in the trampling of civil rights throughout the state. Patriotism was at a high point in Minneapolis in 1917.

Above: Crowds rallying at a fund raising drive for Liberty Bonds, 1917. Photo from the Minneapolis Newspaper Photographs Collection. 

Section 19 of President Woodrow Wilson’s proclamation of November 16, 1917 required all males in the United States older than 14 who were “natives, citizens, denizens, or subjects” of the German Empire to register as alien enemies.

Above: Statutes at Large, 66 Congress 1917-19, Vol. 40 

On February 5, 1918 the Minnesota Public Safety Commission issued Order Number 25 “Providing for the Registration of Aliens”. This order required all foreign born Minnesotans who had not obtained United States citizenship and who weren’t required to register as an “alien enemy” to provide detailed information about their family and their property.

Soon after WWI ended in November, 1918, the Commission voided its orders and a House bill calling for the abolition of the Commission was passed. The Senate, however, voted to keep the Commission, which remained in force until December of 1920. The Minnesota Commission of Public Safety never returned to power.

Further Reading:

Report of Minnesota Commission of Public Safety

Anti-German Nativism, 1917–1919 by Ehsan Alam

Minnesota Commission of Public Safety by Matt Reicher

This post was researched and written by Business/Science/Gov Docs Librarian Donna S. 

[rejectedprincesses]

Holy crap.

This is a newly-discovered photo of Harriet Tubman - this one much younger than any other surviving picture (she’s estimated to be in her mid-40s in this picture).

It is up for auction. You can help it go to the right home: a museum dedicated to Harriet Tubman. 

Find out more (and donate) here.

[everythingminneapolis]

Resistance, Protest, Resilience installation at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

[hclib]

Minneapolis Building Permit Index Cards Now Available Online

Last year, Hennepin County Library Special Collections began digitizing its collection of building permit index cards from the City of Minneapolis. As of this week, these cards, which are a record of work done on Minneapolis homes and buildings from 1884 to 1973, are now available online through Hennepin County Library Digital Collections. Special Collections still houses the original paper index cards, but now anyone, anywhere can easily view them online! Each week, we receive many questions about researching homes and buildings in Minneapolis. The permit cards are an invaluable resource for learning about the history of the city.

The City of Minneapolis began issuing permits to do work on homes and buildings in 1884. Whenever a permit was issued, staff would record information about the permit in a ledger, including details such as the permit number, a description of work to be done, the date the permit was issued, the name of the contractor or homeowner, the cost of the job, and the date of final inspection.

Through the help of a WPA project in the 1930s, the City began transferring the information from these ledgers onto index cards. These are the cards that are now available to you online. Each card lists information about all the permits issued for a specific address. However, if a home or building was constructed before 1884, information about the original construction would not be recorded on the card. The cards primarily contain building information from 1884 to 1973, with some wrecking information recorded into the 1980s.

In 1973, the City computerized their system for issuing permits. For permit information after 1973, contact the Minneapolis Development Review Department. Minneapolis Development Review also houses digital copies of the actual permits referred to on the index cards.

Minneapolis Development Review Public Service Center building 250 S 4th St., Room 300 Minneapolis, MN 55415 [phone]

For more information, please visit our webpage on Hennepin County Library’s resources for researching the history of Minneapolis homes, buildings, and neighborhoods, or attend one of our upcoming classes on researching the history of your Minneapolis home. Classes are held the first Saturday of every month from 10:30-11:30. The next classes will be held on January 7, 2017 at Minneapolis Central Library and February 4, 2017 at Pierre Bottineau Library.

Tips for searching the permit cards online:

Start your search by entering the street name in the search box at the top of the page. Use the abbreviations Ave. and St. in place of Avenue or Street. Examples: Girard Ave. S, 50th St. E, Minnehaha Pkwy.

Find the set of cards that includes your address. The cards are separated into 1000s chunks. Example: Girard Ave. S: 4000-4999

If you get too many results the first time around, try an advanced search by title.

Once you’ve found your set, try a keyword search within the document to search the address number. Example: 4012

You can also choose to download the entire pdf set (use the download button in the upper right), which makes browsing a little easier.

Want to save just the page(s) with your address, not the whole set? Select “Print this page” from the print button drop down in the upper right. You can either send to a printer or save the single page pdf to your computer.

You can search more than just addresses! Interested in finding other homes built by a particular contractor? Wondering about moving permits or neon sign work? Try searching a variety of terms in the search box at the top of the page.

Still having trouble finding what you’re looking for? Email [email protected] and we’ll help you out.

And, don’t forget to check out all of Hennepin County Library’s newly available Digital Collections!

[museology-mn]

Donate to Conservation at the Zoo - Minnesota Zoo

Protect Amur tigers from poaching. Save Minnesota’s prairie butterflies. Restore critically endangered Amur leopard populations. Bring blue-throated macaws back from the brink of extinction. Return Read More

Museology installed a digital donation station at the Minnesota Zoo, aimed to help protect tigers, rebuild habitat, and prevent poaching. Visit the Tiger Lair to check it out!

[oupacademic]

This month is Native American Indian Heritage Month. To learn more about the first peoples of the United States, check out these books:

Who Belongs?: What was it like to be an American Indian citizen in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries?

The Victory with No Name: A vastly overlooked moment in early American history, St. Clair’s Defeat was the biggest battle Native Americans ever won.

Surviving Wounded Knee: A heroic victory to some, and stain on national conscience to others, and what survivors called a horrific massacre, Wounded Knee symbolizes how memory is determined by those who remember.

Annals of Native America: An obscure part of history, this book covers the views of the Nahuas of Mexico pre-Conquest, during the Conquest, and afterward.

Image credit:“Thomas White Face Oglala Sioux” by Heyn Photo, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

[252mya]

Sinosauropteryx prima

Artwork by Julio Lacerda / @paleoart

It was the first non-bird dinosaur to be found with evidence of feathers. The first Sinosauropteryx fossil found shows the typical “dinosaur death pose,” caused by contraction of muscles and ligaments after death.

—

252MYA.com

[amnhnyc]

When a real butterfly specimen in the coyote diorama was deemed beyond restoration, a decision was made to create a model. Conservation Fellow Bethany Palumbo explains the process, which included photocopying Museum specimens for the top-wing view, hand painting the underside, and building up the butterfly body with layers of glue.

[mcad-library]

NEW ARRIVALS AT THE MCAD LIBRARY: BIRD’S EYE VIEW

BARNSTORMING THE PRAIRIES by Jason Weems

Have you ever driven through miles upon miles of Midwestern farmland? While it has a reputation of being rather boring to look at while driving, the entire landscape is transformed when you see it from above. Although it’s a question you’ve probably never asked yourself, Barnstorming the Prairies answers just how the patchwork layers of farms came about - while also showcasing some interesting crop art.- Hannah Jerrie, Illustration (2019)

[humansofnewyork]

“We walked all around this big museum. A museum is a place where you can see art or animals. This museum has stuff like Jesus and I saw a statue of somebody cutting a head. I’ve been drawing the statues but I’m not good at drawing lips, and the hands have three fingers instead of five because that’s easier. I probably shouldn’t show you this one because… I don’t want to say it. You can see their… their… their…. BUTTS.”

[nprfreshair]

The Art Institute of Chicago Recreates Van Gogh’s Famous Bedroom to be Rented on Airbnb

Moving the art viewing experience from a linear surface to a three-dimensional environment, the Art Institute of Chicago is launching an interactive experience alongside their latest exhibition—entry to a full-size replica of Van Gogh’s painting The Bedroom. The room, available on AirBnB starting today, includes all the details of the original painting, arranged in haphazard alignment to imitate the original room.

via This is Colossal 

[museology-mn]

Installing a 12' interactive cottonwood tree at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha.

[exploratorium]

Happy New Year! 🎉

May it be full of interesting questions and inspiring conversations.

[museology-mn]

We as a field need to do a better job of educating the public and legislators in particular that objects are donated to a museum collection in trust for future generations. We need to shout that we are steward of these items. And we need to shout it with one very loud voice. None of us can make a difference alone shouting in the wilderness. We need to be clear about our value year round, every day, as educators, stewards and community anchors so when the budget gets tight we aren't seen as disposable organizations.

Cyndi Sweet, director of the Iowa Museums Association

[museology-mn]

What if, instead of thinking "We need to be better at telling this audience the importance of our institution through our use of technology and getting more impressions," organizations posited, "We need to be better at showing this audience the relevance of our institution through our understanding of people and behavior and creating more influence."

Colleen Dilenschneider, 2015, in AASLH History News

[birdandmoon]

Here are some field guides you will (probably) never see.

original on my site | my new comic, Wild City

[museology-mn]

Waseca Co. Historical Society opens state-of-the-art exhibit

WASECA — Comments expressed by a guest during a reception for Waseca County Historical Society's newest exhibit were exactly what Sheila Morris had been hoping to hear.

An exhibit Museology worked on was featured in the Mankato Free Press! Follow the link to learn more about the work we did for the Waseca County Historical Society, and see photos of the exhibit in progress and finished.