May 4: Public Reception to Celebrate Minnesota State Mankato Students' Work at Blue Earth County Historical Society

Thursday, May 4, 2023
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Blue Earth County Historical Society, 424 Warren St., Mankato

Mankato Free Press coverage

Mankato, Minn. – Thirteen students enrolled in a museum studies course at Minnesota State University, Mankato are holding a free public reception Thursday, May 4 from 5-7 p.m. at the Blue Earth County Historical Society (424 Warren St., Mankato) to celebrate a semester of work helping update museum exhibits.

The central focus of the class has been to provide students professional experiences in a museum setting in what has been the first cooperative effort between the Blue Earth County Historical Society and the University’s Department of Art & Design.

During the course, enrolled students are conducting object research and interpretive writing as well as developing promotional materials. For their term project, students were asked to develop dream plans for updating the exhibits in the gallery.

With guidance from their Minnesota State Mankato instructor and Blue Earth County Historical Society staff, the students’ plans were scaled to manageable three-month projects that enhance several permanent displays and experiential museum spaces. The students have developed effective ways to update and reinstall permanent display cases, paying careful attention to those related to Blue Earth County’s Native American artifacts.

The class has been documenting its journey and will showcase its work at the public reception.

For more information, please contact Alisa Eimen, Minnesota State Mankato professor of art history, by email at alisa.eimen@mnsu.edu or by phone at 507-389-2886.

Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Art & Design is part of the University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,482 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.