GIVE THE GIFT OF HISTORY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Gift cards. Memberships. Family outings. There are many ways to share history during the holidays:

Holiday Events

• Kwanzaa Family Celebration at the Minnesota History Center, Dec. 29.
• Book Signings at Minnesota History Center, Dec. 8
• Holiday Programs are offered at many Society museums and sites.

Gift Giving

• Online Store Skip the mall and do your holiday shopping from home. The online store features one-of-a-kind items, from Minnesota Historical Society Press books, to jewelry and other handcrafted items, to specialty gift baskets with a regional flavor.
• E-Gift Cards Perfect for the hard-to-shop-for history lover. Use them to purchase photo orders, birth and death records, genealogy resources and merchandise in the online store. Check out the offer below for extra savings on photo orders.

Membership

• Memberships A gift that gives year-round. Through Dec. 31, new or renewing members can save $5 on the cost of membership and gift memberships. Print a membership form or call 651-259-3131.
• Donate Give a gift for future generations. Donations to Minnesota's Greatest Generation project count for more this holiday season. A challenge grant from the Katherine B. Andersen Fund of the Saint Paul Foundation will provide $1 for every $4 in new corporate, foundation and individual commitments. Call 651-259-3120 to support the project.
  

RAMSEY HOUSE BEFORE AND AFTER

Victorian holidays at the Alexander Ramsey House have become a family tradition. Come in now to experience "The Homecoming" Christmas tour, horse-drawn carriage rides, and special programs for young girls. Starting Jan. 2 the house will close for three months so renovations can be made to the home’s parlor and heating system. When it's done, the parlor will be returned to its 1881 time period, as shown in the picture below. The new heating system will help preserve the home and its contents.

COLLECTIONS UP CLOSE

1. Go behind the scenes with new audio and video podcasts and blogs that show curators preparing items for display, in-depth discussion of art and artifacts, and views of little known, highly-prized collection pieces.
   
2. The Society is sharing 100,000 Minnesota newspaper pages with the nation. For the next two years, Society staff will select and digitize pages from two newspapers published between 1880 and 1910, for Chronicling America, a national online newspaper database sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
   
   

A NEW TOOL FOR EXPLORING HISTORY

Head online to learn about Minnesota history through the language of maps, images and documents. True North provides free lesson plans and workshops to help educators teach the state's new graduation standards for geography and history. Support for True North is provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Minnesota's Land Management Information Center.

PARTING SHOT

Sketch, Battle of Missionary Ridge, c. 1905, Douglas Volk

Commissioned by Capitol architect Cass Gilbert, this painting is one of four murals in the Governor's Reception Room that chronicle Minnesota's decisive role in the Civil War.

Acquired late last year, the painting underwent restoration, and is now on display in the exhibit Looking Back / Moving Forward at the James J. Hill House. Learn more about this work in a podcast featuring Society curator Brain Szott.