Press Room
The latest news about exhibits, programs, research and collections
Read the latest releases, media kits and news from the Bell Museum below. Journalists and bloggers are welcome to visit the museum during standard operating hours (Wednesday–Sunday from 10am–4pm).
For media information or to request a press pass for your visit, contact Nehwoen Luogon-Bojkov at luogo001@umn.edu or Adrienne Wiseman at awiseman@umn.edu.
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Press Releases
Holly Menninger named executive director of the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum
November 8, 2023 — The College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) at the University of Minnesota announces Holly Menninger as the new executive director of the Bell Museum, effective January 3, 2024.
Bell Museum presents new original planetarium show Secrets from a Forest with award-winning nature photographer Jim Brandenburg
October 31, 2023 — The Bell Museum original planetarium production Secrets from a Forest premieres November 11.
Bell Museum invites visitors to share in the wonders of the deep skies during the fourth annual Statewide Star Party: Astronomy for All
July 27, 2023 — The Bell Museum hosts its fourth annual Statewide Star Party, August 10-12 at several host sites across Minnesota.
The Bell Museum featured in “Top 15 places to visit in Minnesota” for TravelMag.com
March 15, 2023 — The Bell Museum is highlighted as one of the great places to visit for a memorable midwestern travel adventure.
The Bell Museum hosts its fifth annual Space Fest
January 23, 2023 — The Bell Museum invites visitors to explore the possibilities and challenges of long distance space travel and more at Space Fest 2023: Going the Distance
The Bell Museum takes a dive into the Arctic with new Smithsonian exhibit, Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend
September 27, 2022 — The Bell Museum brings a new traveling exhibition that dives deep into the world of a mysterious animal in Narwhal: Revealing an Arctic Legend.
The Bell Museum hosts its first ever Collectors Day to showcase unique, local collections.
September 20, 2022 — The Bell Museum hosts its first Collectors Day, an event that invites members of the community to share and showcase their own personal collections.
The Bell Museum invites visitors to experience the Earth in a new way with Gaia.
June 25, 2022 — The Bell Museum invites visitors to experience Gaia, a touring installation by UK artist Luke Jerram, July 19–August 14.
The Bell Museum hosts a Planet Party June 24-25 to observe rare astronomical event.
June 10, 2022 — The Bell Museum hosts a Planet Party on Friday, June 24, 2022 and Saturday, June 25, 2022 from 4-5am, on the Learning Landscape.
The Bell Museum hosts the third annual Statewide Star Party in St. Paul and across Minnesota.
March 22, 2022 — The Bell Museum hosts its third annual Statewide Star Party, April 7-9 at several host sites across Minnesota in celebration of the sky.
The new Bell Museum exhibition, Seeing Birds, arrives January 28 to spark wonder and curiosity about birds.
January 17, 2022 — The Bell Museum original exhibition, Seeing Birds, showcases the art, nature, and science of birds to visitors January 2022.
The Bell Museum celebrates 150 years of curiosity and discovery beginning January 2022
December 27, 2021 — The Bell Museum begins a yearlong celebration in January 2022 with various in-person experiences for the museum’s 150th anniversary.
Bell Museum kicks off new Smithsonian Affiliate status with new fish exhibit beginning October 15
August 5, 2021 — The Bell Museum presents a new exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution. Beginning October 15, the new show X-Ray Vision: Fish Inside Out, invites visitors to explore the creatures that live below the water’s surface. Through striking black-and-white prints of radiographs, the bone structures of vertebrate aquatic life are displayed in intricate detail.
Bell Museum highlights unique collections internship program with “Expeditions to the Bell”
June 22, 2021 — The Bell Museum’s pilot internship program showcases students and faculty giving a multi-day demonstration of techniques in preparing specimens for the Bell’s scientific collection.
Minnesota Water Stories premieres in the Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium on Friday, June 11.
June 5, 2021 — Water: We can’t exist without it, but regional and global challenges threaten our clean water. This full-dome production examines water at different scales: from a cosmic viewpoint, then at a global perspective, on down to a local look at our most precious resource.
Bugs: Outside the Box opens at the Bell on June 11
May 7, 2021 — Where can you see a butterfly with a five foot wingspan, or a longhorn beetle with antennae more than twelve feet across? The answers can be found amongst the enormous sculptures on display in Bugs: Outside the Box, at the Bell Museum this summer, June 11 to Sept 12, 2021.
The Bell Museum reopens on Friday, March 12
February 19, 2021 — The Bell Museum reopens to the public beginning Friday, March 12. The Bell Museum brings together natural history, astronomy, art and the environment with a unique Minnesota perspective and features high-tech exhibits, famous wildlife dioramas and outdoor learning experiences.
The Bell Museum’s third annual Space Fest is moving online February 4-6 weekend
January 26, 2021 — The Bell Museum’s annual Space Fest is now virtual. A variety of activities, videos and talks are available for all ages from the comfort of home. The festival will explore astrobiology with the researchers and scientists who investigate life throughout the universe.
Landmark Publication of “Minnesota’s Natural Heritage, Second Edition” launches at the Bell Museum on Thursday, January 21
December 17, 2020 —The Bell Museum in collaboration with the University of Minnesota Press will host an online book launch and discussion for “Minnesota’s Natural Heritage, Second Edition” on Thursday, January 21. “Minnesota’s Natural Heritage, Second Edition,” available January 6, 2021, has been updated, expanded, and copiously illustrated to account for profound changes to the state’s natural landscape over the past 25 years.
Mysteries of Your Brain Premieres the Weekend of October 15–18
September 29, 2020 — Mysteries of Your Brain takes you on an immersive, animated adventure into the human brain, exploring how the brain works and what makes human brains so special.
Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium opens August 6
August 3, 2020 — The Bell’s state-of-the-art Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium opens to the public on Thursday, August 6. The planetarium will open with two all-ages programs: Minnesota Night Sky and Out of This World! This summer the planetarium will put the spotlight on Mars, as NASA’s Perseverance rover will launch and be on its way to a February 2021 landing.
The Bell Museum Reopens July 16
July 13, 2020 — The Bell Museum at the University of Minnesota will reopen to members on July 16 and to the general public on July 23. The Bell Museum brings together science, art and the environment with a unique Minnesota perspective and features high-tech exhibits, famous wildlife dioramas and outdoor learning experiences.
Minnesota Water Stories Premiers April 11
February 7, 2020 — Minnesota Water Stories is the Bell Museum’s latest production, premiering in the Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium on Saturday, April 11. The show will launch at a Spotlight Science event at the museum, where visitors can learn directly from the U of M scientists and researchers working to understand and protect our waters.
Silent Sky runs February 22–March 8
The Bell Museum, Minnesota’s official natural history museum, is teaming up with Theatre Pro Rata to present Silent Sky, which will be held inside the museum’s Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium from Feb. 22 through March 8. The Bell hosts arts programs throughout the year in its galleries, but this will be its first theatrical arts collaboration in the planetarium.
Audubon Animated exhibition opens January 25
January 21, 2020 — The exhibition is an immersive multimedia experience of birds and their habitats, as painted by John James Audubon in his monumental project, Birds of America. The Bell visitors will see and hear 20 different bird species, including some now extinct and threatened, as they fly, hunt, and preen over the course of a compressed day and night in a virtual habitat combining marshy Louisiana swamplands and Midwestern forest. The animation was created by OLO creative farm, a production company in Como, Italy.
The Bell Museum’s Second Annual Space Fest weekend is Jan. 31–Feb. 2
This year’s event highlights women in space science; offerings include planetarium shows, telescope viewing, an art exhibit, guest presenters and more
Bell Museum Hosts Minnesota’s First ‘Statewide Star Party’
October 3, 2019 — The Bell Museum invites stargazers across the state to participate in Minnesota’s first Statewide Star Party during the weekend of Friday, November 8 through Monday, November 11, 2019.
Stunning ‘Museum of the Moon’ landing in Minnesota May 21-June 9
March 21, 2019 — Earth’s Moon is coming to the Twin Cities in the form of a vivid, large-scale art installation by UK artist Luke Jerram.
‘Weather to Climate: Our Changing World’ opening February 2-April 28
February 1, 2019 — Learn the difference between weather and climate and how they are connected in this special exhibit.
Research Brief: First ever footage of wolves hunting freshwater fish captured near Voyageurs National Park
December 13, 2018 — Researchers from the Voyageurs Wolf Project made a number of recent insights into the secret lives of wolves.
Our Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture on view at Bell Museum
September 29, 2018 — New exhibit illuminates the complex and intricate food system that brings what we eat from farm to fork.
Bell Museum’s Mammoth Grand Opening Tickets On Sale
June 6, 2018 — The renovated Bell Museum features a 21st century facility, world-famous exhibits, and all-new displays and programs.
Bell Museum Grand Opening set for July 13-15, 2018
April 9, 2018 — Grand Opening events are planned to span the weekend, including a special ticketed party on Friday night.
Bell Museum welcomes new Breckenridge Chair of Ornithology
May 16, 2018 — Dr. Sushma Reddy will oversee the museum’s vast bird collection as well as a research program to further develop the avian tree of life.
Dome Construction Begins on Planetarium at the New Bell Museum
August 1, 2017 — Latest Technology Makes the Theater the First of Its Kind in the World.
World-renowned Bell Museum wildlife dioramas begin historic move to new home in St. Paul
June 21, 2017 — No other museum has attempted a move of this scale with dioramas of this age and method of construction.
New Bell Museum features bird-safe glass windows
April 3, 2017 — All of the exterior windows at the new Bell Museum feature a custom patterned glass to aid in bird conservation.
Largest commercial installation of Thermally Modified Wood at the new Bell Museum
February 15, 2017 — Approximately 40 percent of the museum’s exterior will consist of the thermally modified wood—the largest installation in the U.S.
Media Guidelines
The Bell Museum is a unit of the University of Minnesota. The university is an open and public place that provides the news media reasonable access to campus. However, we may regulate media access so as not to disrupt museum visitors, research and programs, to protect the safety and privacy of those on campus, and to comply with state and federal laws on student and personnel data.
The following guidelines pertain to any individual or group conducting interviews, making audio or video recordings, or taking photographs for dissemination to the public via commercial or non-commercial news and information outlets, including online.
Visit the university’s Media Resources page for more information.
General Guidelines
Call us in advance. We encourage members of the media who plan to visit the museum to contact us directly so we can help facilitate. All media personnel must be accompanied by Bell Museum staff. Contact awiseman@umn.edu to schedule a visit.
Media vehicles must be parked legally. Parking rules are routinely enforced on campus because parking is in high demand and traffic is heavy. It is also important that traffic flow, sidewalks, driveways, fire lanes, disability access and the like are not blocked. The University will not pay for parking tickets on media vehicles.
Equipment must not damage University property. Additional restrictions on the use of television cameras, still cameras, flash photography and other special lighting and audio equipment may be implemented on a case-by-case basis to minimize disruption or protect safety or security.
Access may be limited for commercial filming. The museum’s unique architecture and collections make it an ideal setting for filming and photographing events and activities. Note: All still photography and filming/taping, other than that being done by news organizations for news purposes, students filming as part of coursework, or for official University Units is considered to be commercial work. Visit Filming and Photography at the University for more information and to submit a filming request.
Images
Please use the following credit when publishing our press images along with any noted photographers: Courtesy of the Bell Museum and University of Minnesota.
Sample photos below. Additional media, video clips, and archival imagery available upon request.