The Bakken

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Coordinates: 44°56′17″N 93°19′15″W / 44.93806°N 93.32083°W / 44.93806; -93.32083
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The Bakken Museum
A view of The Bakken Museum from the medicinal garden
A view of The Bakken Museum from the medicinal garden
Map
Established1975–1976
Location3537 Zenith Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Coordinates44°56′17″N 93°19′15″W / 44.93806°N 93.32083°W / 44.93806; -93.32083
TypeScience museum
DirectorAlissa Light
Websitewww.thebakken.org

The Bakken Museum (/ˈbɑːkən/ BAH-kən) is situated in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Established in 1975 by Earl Bakken, the co-founder of Medtronic, it serves as a science museum. The museum boasts interactive displays covering various topics within science, technology, and the humanities. Notably, it includes a substantial exhibit dedicated to Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein.[1]

Collections and exhibits[edit]

The museum houses approximately 11,000 written works and around 2,000 scientific instruments, with a particular focus on electrophysiology and electrotherapeutics. Notable holdings include works authored by Jean Antoine Nollet, Benjamin Franklin, Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini, Alessandro Volta, Guillame Benjamin Amand Duchenne, and Emil Heinrich Du Bois-Reymond. Additionally, the museum holds journals such as Annalen der Physik, the Philosophical Transactions, Proceedings of the Royal Society, and Zeitschrift für Physik.[2] Within the museum, there exists an exhibit dedicated to Frankenstein, which explores the intersection of electricity and medicine depicted in Mary Shelley's novel. This portrayal, as well as the subsequent 1931 film adaptation featuring Boris Karloff, directly influenced Bakken's pursuit of invention. Bakken's endeavors culminated in his invention of the pacemaker and the establishment of Medtronic.[1]

A family playing a round of Mindball at The Bakken Museum

The museum's permanent exhibits comprises of:[3]

  • Spark is the Bakken Museum's latest exhibit, delving into the iterative processes of innovation and creativity.[4]
  • Frankenstein’s Laboratory is an object theater featuring Frankenstein’s monster.
  • Deep Roots: Plants as Medicine discusses modern preconceptions about the relationship between plants and wellness.
  • Ben Franklin’s Electricity Party allows visitors to try out electric party tricks similar to those conducted by Ben Franklin and other scientists during electricity parties in the 1700s.
  • Mary and Her Monster See Mary Shelley’s magic bookcase filled with artifacts and books from The Bakken collection, solve the puzzle of Frankenstein’s story illustrated by artist Zak Sally, and meet a living portrait of Mary that allows visitors to hear about the people, science, art and culture that inspired her.
  • The Florence Bakken Medicinal Garden, along with a statue of Hermes (or Mercury), the messenger god of Ancient Greece and Rome, serve as prominent features of the museum's grounds.


A newspaper reporter once said the venue "seems a throwback to another time when skilled craftsmen shaped stone, wood and glass into places with lasting appeal".[2]

History[edit]

waist high portrait wearing a suit coat and Hawaiian shirt and lots of Mardi Gras-like necklaces and his Medtronic namebadge
Inventor Earl Bakken, co-founder of Medtronic

The Bakken Museum was established by inventor Earl Bakken, who also founded the medical technology company Medtronic in 1949.[5] Bakken harbored a lifelong fascination with electricity and innovation. During his childhood, he, self-identified as a "nerd," conceived a basic electroshock device at school as a means of repelling bullies.[6][7]

At Bakken's proposal in 1969, Dennis Stillings, then employed in Medtronic's library, initiated the acquisition of books and devices. By 1974, the collection had garnered recognition within antiquarian circles and was presented with two assortments of early electrical devices. Initially housed at the Medtronic headquarters in Saint Anthony Village, Minnesota, the collection expanded to occupy a floor in the Medtronic branch office in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota by 1975. In 1976, the relocation process to its current site commenced.[8]

Previously sponsored by the museum, the Bakken Quartet showcased chamber music performances onsite. Presently, the ensemble operates under the name Bakken Trio and continues to deliver musical performances in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[9]

Facility[edit]

Construction of the museum expansion - August 1997.

Architect Carl A. Gage originally constructed the building between 1928 and 1930 as the home of William Goodfellow, who sold his dry goods store in 1904 to George Dayton, founder of today's Target Corporation. A combination of 16th-century English styles including Tudor and Gothic Revival, the home was named "West Winds" and contains "dark wood interior paneling, open-beamed ceilings, grouped and arched windows and stained glass". The original home had fifteen rooms and eleven bathrooms. When he died in 1944, Goodfellow donated the buildings to the Girl Scouts. The family of Richard Cornelius lived there between 1953 and 1976, after which the house became the Bakken Museum.

In 1999, the museum completed an expansion that doubled its size from 13,000 sq ft (1,208 m2) to 25,000 sq ft (2,323 m2).[10] A 1,200 sq ft (111 m2) underground vault built in 1981 protects the collection with a constant temperature of 65 °F (18 °C) and 55 percent relative humidity.[8]

Gallery[edit]

  • A Frankenstein display
    A Frankenstein display
  • Flower in a Bakken garden
    Flower in a Bakken garden
  • Bakken Museum sign
    Bakken Museum sign
  • Inside the museum
    Inside the museum
  • Theremin display, which visitors can play
    Theremin display, which visitors can play

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Rana, D. (2021). A Frayed New World: From Science Fiction to Society. Notion Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-68554-027-2. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  2. ^ a b Rhees, David J. (2002). "The Physical Tourist: Physics in Lake Wobegon: A Tour of Three Minnesota Museums of Science and Technology". Physics in Perspective. 4. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag: 236–240. doi:10.1007/s00016-002-8365-5.
  3. ^ "Youth Programs". The Bakken Museum. Retrieved 2023-06-12.
  4. ^ https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-s-quirky-bakken-museum-reinvents-itself-with-4-5m-face-lift/572674982/
  5. ^ "Earl E. Bakken Timeline". Earl E. Bakken. Archived from the original on 2007-08-19. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  6. ^ Spencer, William H. (2001). Hurst, J. Willis; Fye, W. Bruce (eds.). "Earl E. Bakken". Clinical Cardiology. 24 (5): 422–423. doi:10.1002/clc.4960240515. ISSN 1932-8737. PMC 6655043.
  7. ^ Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Chemistry: Earl E. Bakken Archived 2007-12-05 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b Steinke, Cynthia A. (1994). History of Science and Technology: A Sampler of Centers and Collections of Distinction. Haworth Press via Google Books Limited Preview. pp. 114–115. ISBN 1-56024-721-5. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  9. ^ Gehrke, Karl (November 18, 2005). "Bakken the saddle for a new season". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-01-07. and "Series Program and Calendar". Bakken Trio. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  10. ^ ""West Winds" Home of The Bakken Museum in Minneapolis Minnesota". The Bakken. Archived from the original on 2007-10-20. Retrieved 2008-01-07.

External links[edit]

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