What: Guest Chef Series
When: Saturdays, Feb. 23, April 13 and May 11
Cost: $11 adults, $9 seniors and college students, $6 children ages 6-17; free for MHS members.
Phone: 612-341-7555

Get in-depth knowledge about cooking, baking and healthy eating with this annual series featuring local chefs and bakers. Held Saturdays in winter, the program includes demonstrations, samples and recipes.

• A Twist on Traditional Healthy Eating with Austin Bartold
  Dates: Feb. 23, 2013
  Time: 12:30 and 2 p.m.
  Join Austin Bartold, executive chef from Waite House Neighborhood Center, for a series of cooking demonstrations of healthy recipes using traditional native ingredients. He will demonstrate braised venison and a chilled wild rice salad.
  
• Modern Maple with Teresa Marrone
  Dates: April 13, 2013
  Time: Noon
  Join food writer Teresa Marrone as she draws on her new book "Modern Maple" to celebrate maple syrup in ways both traditional and contemporary. Book signing will be available after each demonstration and at the Mill City Farmers Winter Market from 10 to 11 a.m.
  
• Minnesota’s Bounty: The Farmers Market Cookbook with Beth Dooley
  Dates: May 11, 2013
  Time: 12:30 and 2 p.m.
  Join Beth Dooley, a food writer and chef, as she draws on her new book"Minnesota’s Bounty: The Farmers Market Cookbook" to provide suggestions and recipes that inspire simple, modern and healthy meals. Dooley follows an ingredients-first philosophy, helping readers to be more confident and spontaneous both at the market and in the kitchen. Book signing will be available after each demonstration and at the Mill City Farmers Winter Market from 10 to 11 a.m.

What: Washburn A Mill Tour
When: Saturday March 2 and 16
Time: 1 p.m.
Cost: $14 adults, $12 seniors and college students, $10 children ages 6-17 and MHS members. Tour includes museum admission.
Reservations:Required,call 612-341-7555 or register online.

Take this one-of-a-kind tour through the Washburn A Mill complex to learn about pieces of its past, from structural reorganizations and physical changes to personal histories of the men and women who brought the mill to life. This is the only chance for guests to see some of the non-public spaces of the mill.

The tour also includes admission to the museum gallery, Baking Lab, Water Lab and Flour Tower Show.

What: Mill City Bake-Off Challenge
When: Saturday, March 9
Time: 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Demonstration and tasting at 2 p.m.
Cost: $11 adults, $9 seniors and college students, $6 children ages 6-17; free for MHS members.
Phone: 612-341-7555

Join the audience to decide the ingredients and, ultimately, the fate of an on-the-spot original recipe created by a Mill City Museum baker. Audience members will select from the Pillsbury Bake-Off official list of qualifying ingredients, then sample the final recipe and judge if it has what it takes to be a winner.

Learn about the 45 year history of the Pillsbury Bake-Off and explore the museum gallery, Baking Lab, Water Lab and Flour Tower Show.

What: Family Day: Women of Mill City
When: Saturday, March 23
Time: 1 to 4 p.m.
Cost: $11 adults, $9 seniors and college students, $6 children ages 6-17; free for MHS members.
Phone: 612-341-7555

March is Women's History Month and Mill City Museum is celebrating with a family day program featuring performances by four history players and hands-on activities for visitors of all ages.

Families will enjoy portrayals of influential Minnesota women: bonanza farm domestic manager and diarist Mary Dodge Woodward (1880s), labor writer and organizer Eva McDonald Valesh (1880-1900), influential Minneapolis head librarian Gratia Countryman (1900-1930), and Pillsbury Home Service Director Ruth Andre Krause (aka "Ann Pillsbury", 1950).

An afternoon scavenger hunt will focus on the important role women played in shaping Minneapolis history, followed by a short quiz where guests can discover which "women's work" of the 18th and 19th centuries would suit them best. Also a "Piecework Challenge" tests their speed against 19th century work standards.

Guests can also explore the museum gallery, Baking Lab, Water Lab and Flour Tower Show.

What: Scratch vs. Mix: Which Brownie is Better?
When: Sunday, March 24
Time: 2 p.m.
Cost: $11 adults, $9 seniors and college students, $6 children ages 6-17; free for MHS members.
Phone:612-341-7555

In this program, guests to the Mill City Museum will learn the history of how baking mixes were created and eventually came to dominate home baking. Museum staff will make brownies from scratch and mix, and visitors will be able to taste and vote on their favorite. At the end of the day guests will also take home a copy of the recipe.

Guests can also explore the museum gallery, Baking Lab, Water Lab and Flour Tower Show.

About the Mill City Museum

Built within the ruins of the Washburn A Mill, a National Historic Landmark, the award-winning Mill City Museum chronicles the flour milling industry that fueled the growth of Minneapolis. The story comes to life through the eight-story Flour Tower, Water Lab, Baking Lab and other hands-on exhibits.

The museum is located at 704 S. Second St. in Minneapolis. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. The site is also open Mondays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in July and August. For more information, call 612-341-7555 or visit www.millcitymuseum.org.

About the Minnesota Historical Society

The Society’s calendar of events is posted online at www.mnhs.org/calendar. The website also has information about all of the Society’s programs, museums and historic sites.

The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. The Society collects, preserves and tells the story of Minnesota’s past through museum exhibits, libraries and collections, historic sites, educational programs and book publishing. Using the power of history to transform lives, the Society preserves our past, shares our state’s stories and connects people with history.

The Minnesota Historical Society is supported in part by its Premier Partners: Xcel Energy and Explore Minnesota Tourism.