Minneapolis, MN - The Bakken Museum is calling for community input on the next artifact to display from its collections. From June 7 through June 22, individuals will have the opportunity to vote between six themes representing a subsection of items within the museum’s vault. Votes will be tallied and a second round of voting will be held on a single artifact within the winning category between June 29 and July 13. Visitors will be able to see the final collections item at the museum beginning August 3.

“The Bakken’s Collections are a rich resource for exploring efforts to understand the human body, health, and wellness throughout history,” said The Bakken Museum Curator of Exhibits and Collections Adrian Fischer. “Since we can’t have each item on display at the museum, we’re looking to engage the community and hear what they’re most interested in seeing on display.”

Categories to be voted are:

• Healthy Bodies – Ideas and devices meant to support the most fundamental goal of medicine: help make bodies healthy.

• On the Fringes – Questions, ideas, and inventions that have sought to push the boundaries of science in their time and place.

• Figuring Things Out – The nitty gritty side of science is the important work of measuring, experimenting, and putting the pieces together.

• Energize! – Scientific breakthroughs in harnessing new forms of energy in history have often inspired new ideas about healing the human body and enhancing its potential.

• Mind and Body – A question that has puzzled scientists and philosophers for ages: how do our minds and bodies influence each other and our experience of the world?

• Form and Function – Scientific and medical devices need to work, but they also have a long history of being beautiful works of craftsmanship in their own right.

The Bakken Museum’s collections include 11,000 books, 2,500 artifacts, and 1,000 pieces of art and ephemera.

Votes can be placed on The Bakken Museum’s website at thebakken.org/community-curated.

Images and logos available to download: https://thebakken.org/press-kit.

ABOUT THE BAKKEN MUSEUM

The Bakken Museum inspires a passion for innovation by exploring the potential for science, technology, and the humanities to make the world a better place. Located in Minneapolis, the museum features a world-renowned collection of artifacts, exceptional education programs, exhibits exploring the wonders of invention, plant medicine, technology, and science, and the Florence Bakken Medicinal Garden. For more information, visit thebakken.org. Find @thebakkenmusem on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

PRESS CONTACT

Laura Whittet
Associate Director of Marketing & Communications
The Bakken Museum
whittet@thebakken.org, 651-242-0779