Meet Risa Lee Lama-Luther, a 2025 Graduate Award & Fellowship Recipients! Risa’s work examines thousands of primate teeth to understand the diet and evolution of our earliest ape ancestors. www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/grad-awards/2025-graduat...
Three children in a science lab show off a clear jar that contains two large grubs.
Two children look out over a flowering prairie. One child holds a white net, the other holds binoculars.
A group of children walks across pavement, holding aloft stalks of corn.
Two girls sit at a table, writing in notebooks. One girl has attached an oak leaf to her headband, covering her face.
Statewide Bell Museum camps are now enrolling! Hosted in partnership with University of Minnesota Research & Outreach Centers, our camps bring field trips, science experiments, and hands-on fun to Grand Rapids, Crookston, Lamberton and Waseca. Sign your camper up on our website!
Meet Aiym Bakytbaikyzy, a 2025 Graduate Award & Fellowship Recipients! Aiym studies how fungi & bacteria interact to shape the fate of carbon in decaying wood. Learn more at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/grad-awards/2025-graduat...
Three researchers look closely at two preserved birds, sitting on a green countertop. White shelves and bones are in the background.
A preserved bird with a brown neck, a long beak, and shiny feathers, sits next to other birds in a drawer.
A preserved Heron, with a white tag attached to its leg, and a small antenna placed on its back.
A woman hands a small, preserved bird, down to a man. They stand in front of white drawers holding many preserved birds.
When solar-powered GPS trackers were losing power prematurely, researchers studying green herons headed to the Bell Museum collections to problem solve. In this blog post (link in bio), learn why tracking bird movement is essential for conservation and how UMN researchers are studying green herons.
A person with a baby in a carrier and a young child looking intently at a museum exhibit.
This week, the staff at the Bell will be taking some time to reflect on the past year and prepare for the exciting things in store during 2026. This means that the museum will be closed to the public January 5–9.
Visit our website for more information on our hours and admissions.
Two visitors observing a diorama of a large elk in a natural history museum setting.
The Bell is closed on December 24, 25, and January 1. We are open for special hours on December 29 and 30. Stay warm and we hope to see you soon!
Learn more about our hours and admissions at: https://www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/admissions/
A woman in a flannel shirt extends her hand, releasing invisible seeds between her fingers. She is surrounded by brown, dead plants.
Tiny black seeds rest in the hand of a student.
A man in a yellow vest directs others toward brown plants with nodding stems full of seeds.
A man in a yellow vest and glasses hands paper envelopes of seeds to students.
It's planting season! While most gardens are bedded down for the winter, many native plant species require a cold period to germinate. Plus, the melting and thawing of snow works seeds into the soil. Last week, Learning Landscape Gardener Alex Wegrzyn helped students spread new seed at the Bell.
We're so proud of Bell Curator of Birds Dr. Sushma Reddy, featured at the British Ornithologists' Union conference this year. Check out her thread! #BOUasm25
Night view of the Bell Museum with aurora visible in the sky, featuring an informational sign with a map in the foreground.
A vivid display of the Northern Lights in a night sky, featuring streaks of pink and green above the Bell Museum.
A vivid display of the Northern Lights in a night sky, featuring streaks of pink and green above the Bell Museum.
A vivid display of the Northern Lights in a night sky, featuring streaks of pink and green above the Bell Museum.
For a few brief and beautiful minutes last night, Minnesotans across the state stopped what they were doing to step outside and catch a glimpse of the aurora. These photos were taken at the Bell by Planetarium Manager Sally Brummel.
Did you experience the aurora last night? Send us your pictures!
Photo Credits: Joe Whittaker
Happy #FossilFriday! It’s #GarWeek so check out these 50 million year old #gar fish from #Utah at the Science Museum of Minnesota! This genus, Lepisosteus, goes back to the Cretaceous and is still swimming today! Thanks to @bellmuseum.bsky.social & @garlab.bsky.social for hyping these cool #fish!
You can hear Brandon Kilbourne read from Natural History this Wednesday at the U's @bellmuseum.bsky.social! @graywolfpress.bsky.social
events.tc.umn.edu/event/25210-...
Two women lean in, smiling, while pulling apart the red carcass of a small bird. The woman holding the bird wears blue gloves.
A man sits at a table, holding a brown and white dead bird. Students stand in a circle around him, with faces of interest and mild disgust.
Leaning over a tray of gray feathers, Bell staff member Sam Getty helps a student dissect a bird. A book that reads "Manual of Ornithology" rests on the table.
A student with long red hair hits the "dab" pose, in front of a mounted black bird wing.
Salvage Wildlife, Statewide! Bell curatorial staff Dr. Keith Barker and Sam Getty recently visited Salvage Wildlife partner Concordia College to teach a crash course on bird-prepping.
Volunteer specimen preppers learned the ins-and-outs of turning a salvaged bird carcass into a scientific specimen!
Nostalgia, conversation, & climate are central to a new art installation at the Bell, Face to Face: 20 Questions that Lead to Loving the Planet. Read more about this art experience by MN artist Alyssa Baguss in our latest blog post! www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/face-to-face-with-a...
The climate is changing, but where do you fit in? Join us for Spotlight Science: Climate Action and YOU! on November 15 to find tips on how you can make large and small changes to build your climate action footprint.
www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/event/spotlight-science-...
Meet the Astronomy Educators that are behind the scenes of your favorite planetarium experiences! Read our recent blog post to learn more! Find it at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/meet-our-astronomy-...
Graphic for 'Confluence: Futures in Color' featuring colorful floral patterns against a dark background with text overlay.
Come see us at ConFluence 2025!
This year, the Bell Museum will be at ConFluence: Futures in Color. This 2-day convention in NE Minneapolis celebrates art, sci-fi, futurisms, and fantasy centered on content by and for Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color.
www.confluencemn.com
Mammoth themed books sit on a table, next to newspaper clippings. In the background are shelves of books.
A brown fossilized tooth on a white platform. The tooth is large, with ridges on top.
A sign reads "mammoth tooth" outside of a building.
Something to chew on while you read... patrons at the Austin Public Library get to "check out" a real mammoth tooth, thanks to a loan from the Bell Museum!
Specimen loans are just another way we bring natural history education statewide. If you're in Austin, go say hello to the big tooth!
Two people stand in front of a planetarium with a meme on the screen. The meme is a humorous picture of "cowboy advice" that says, "1. be rootin, 2. be tootin, and 3. and by god by constellation shootin"
A group photo at the GLPA+WAC conference
A group of people in a modern building wearing nametags
A group of people wearing nametags at a conference with a sign that says Welcome GLPA in the background
This past week, we were honored to host the GLPA+WAC conference! The GLPA+WAC conference is the largest gathering of planetarium experts in the Great Lakes region. The week included informational sessions, planetarium shows, & a constellation shootout, where attendees tested constellation knowledge.
This Saturday, catch Finding Fungi, a planetarium show created by the Minnesota Mycological Society! Finding Fungi is screening as part of FungiFest, an all day fungal celebration. More at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/event/spotlight-science-...
A long exposure photograph of star trails with a dirt road and building in the foreground
It's almost time for this year's Statewide Star Party! From Sept 17-20, host sites throughout Minnesota will become activated with astronomical celebrations. Find a location near you at www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/2025-statewi...
📸: Jeffers Petroglyphs
A Bell Museum guide holds out a gecko
A Bell Museum astronomy student guides a planetarium experience
Calling current UMN students! We’re hiring for two student positions — Museum Guides and Planetarium Assistants! If you’re interested in connecting people to nature, science, and astronomy, these positions might be a good fit for you! Apply by Sept 15.
www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/employment/
How are natural history specimens created? 🐦
Recently, we hosted our annual event, Expeditions. At this event, Bell scientists demonstrate how to prepare natural history specimens. Read more about this year’s Expeditions in our recent blog post.
www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/expedit...
Students practice giving a weather forecast against a whiteboard backdrop
A summer camp instructor and a student work together on a colorful craft project
A group of students in a classroom, one holding a notebook that says "Tomorrow's city, today!"
A group of students holding up craft garden projects
That’s a wrap for this year’s summer camps!
Yesterday was our last day of summer camps at the Bell. Our summer camps are a huge team effort and wouldn’t be possible without all our amazing camp staff, educators, and you! Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s camps out of this world 🚀
A group of fairgoers at the Minnesota State Fair with a fair ride overhead
Find us at the MN State Fair!
• STEM Day in Dan Patch Park on Thur, Aug 21
• Eco Experience on Sat, Aug 23, & Sun, Aug 24
• #UMN Crossroads Building on Mon, Aug 25
Meet our team, connect science, and learn more about what Minnesota’s state natural history museum has to offer!
Do you have an assemblage of agates, a collection of coins, a plethora of Pez dispensers? We want to see all the strange and wonderful things you collect — apply to share your collection at Collectors Day!
Applications are open until Sept 28. www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/collectors-d...
What’s better than a meteor shower? Two meteor showers!
Peaking on July 30, the Aquariid and Capricornid meteor showers are two celestial shows to catch this summer. Head out between midnight and the early morning to catch potentially dozens of meteors per hour!
www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...
Immerse yourself in MSP LTER urban ecological research at the Bell Museum's (@bellmuseum.bsky.social) Solution Studio, the award-winning makerspace where everyone is an ecologist! Learn more in today's #MinnesotaDaily article featuring our partnership w/ the Bell z.umn.edu/SolutionStudio25-News. 1/2
Fossils and plants: two things we love at the Bell! Researchers from the University of Florida and @floridamuseum.bsky.social discovered a new ancient family of plants - read how the Bell’s one million plant specimens helped contribute to the discovery!
www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/paleobo...