Mill City Museum is pleased to be a part of Minnesota Museums Month, a statewide celebration of museums, their stories and their communities. This May, the museum is offering a wide selection of programs, including tours of the historic Washburn A Mill complex, two programs on baking and cooking, and the opening of a new exhibit that explores Minneapolis' rich history of the American Indian Movement, told through photographs.

What: Washburn A Mill Tour
When: Offered on select weekends year round. Saturday, May 4, 18, June 8 and 22.
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.

This in-depth tour takes visitors into the historic Washburn A Mill complex and the award-winning Mill City Museum Building. A museum interpreter will take guests into the building's many nooks and crannies, highlighting the lives of the men and women who once brought the mill to life. Guides will detail how the building functioned at the peak of its flour milling years and the many changes that the structure went through over time.

This is one of the only opportunities to take a guided tour through the entire building and to see some of its non-public areas. Tour ticket price includes admission to the museum gallery, Baking Lab, Water Lab and Flour Tower show.

What: Guest Chef: Minnesota's Bounty: The Farmers Market Cookbook with Beth Dooley
When: Saturday, May 11
Time: 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Cost: $11 adults, $9 seniors and college students, $6 children ages 6-17; free for MHS members.
Phone: 612-341-7555

This program is designed to teach guests how to make the most of their Farmers Market shopping experience. Join Beth Dooley, seasoned cook and food writer, as she celebrates the release of her new book, "Minnesota's Bounty: The Farmers Market Cookbook." Dooley will give cooking demonstrations in the Mill City Museum's Baking Lab, and will also be sharing advice, suggestions and recipes to guests on how to create simply, modern and healthy meals following an ingredients-first philosophy.

After each demonstration, Dooley and photographer Mette Nielsen will be available to sign copies of the book. There will also be a book signing from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Mill City Farmers Market.

Saturday, May 11 is also the first regular season Mill City Farmer's Market. Located in the historic train shed of Mill City Museum and in the mall between the Guthrie Theatre and Spoonriver Restaurant, the market is open every Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., through Oct. 27, rain or shine.

Visit favorite vendors and meet new local, sustainable and organic farmers and artisans.

What: Winning Recipes from the Pillsbury Bake-Off
When: Sunday, May 19
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

Explore history through food with this demonstration of Chocolate Cherry Bars, a Bake-Off winning recipe from 1974. Guests will learn about the 60-year history of the Pillsbury Bake-Off, sample treats, get baking tips and take home a copy of the winning recipe.

The Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest began in 1949 as the “Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest,” in New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Executives at the company’s advertising agency created the contest and invited homemakers to share their treasured recipes to celebrate Pillsbury’s 80th birthday. The response was so great that Pillsbury decided to hold the contest again the following year, and the rest is history – over 60 years of American cooking and baking.

We Are Still Here: Photographs of the American Indian Movement, Public Reception
When: Thursday, May 16
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Exhibit run dates: May 16 - Sept. 1, during regular museum hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Also open Mondays in July and August: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost: Free

A public reception will open "We Are Still Here: Photographs of the American Indian Movement," an exhibit of photographs by Dick Bancroft, activist and photographer with the American Indian Movement from 1970 to 1981. During his time with AIM, Bancroft took photos of the takeovers of federal buildings, the founding of survival schools in the Twin Cities, the Wounded Knee trials, The Longest Walk of Survival and bringing American Indian voices to the United Nations. At 7 p.m. join Bancroft and journalist Laura Waterman Wittstock, who interviewed AIM survivors, for a presentation drawn from their new book "We Are Still Here: A History of the American Indian Movement in Photographs" (MHS Press, May 2013.)

Refreshments will be available. The exhibit is located in the museum’s central Mill Commons, and is free and open to the public during regular museum hours through Sept. 2, 2013.

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.

May is Minnesota Museums Month

Minnesota Museums Month is a statewide celebration of museums, their stories, and their communities. This May, visit a new museum in your community, take a road trip, or return to one of your favorites that you haven’t seen in a while. Museums of every type—art, historical, science, arboretums, zoos and more—are participating. For more information visit www.museumsmonth.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.