Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, Mill City Museum is offering up a wide variety of programs for bakers of all ages this November. All programs are included with the price of admission.

What: Making Pies Family Day
When: Saturday, Nov. 9
Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Fall is here, a chill is in the air and the holidays are approaching. For Mill City Museum, that means making pie. Families will enjoy a variety of pie-related activities throughout the museum. Young visitors can make their own mini pie to bake at home with help from Bakers Square; enjoy story time featuring stories from "Winter is the Warmest Season;" and make a craft project. Costumed history players will entertain throughout the day, including Mary Dodge Woodward, who baked 22 pies each week as an 1880s domestic farm manager and Mary Pint a.k.a. “the Pie Lady” known for her pie trivia and expertise.

What: Pie Crusts and Poems: The Secret's in the Telling
When: Saturday, Nov. 23
Time: 12:30 and 2 p.m.

Visit the Baking Lab to experience pie as you've never experienced it before with Seattle's "Pie Poet" Kate Lebo. Kate will demonstrate how to create the perfect crust while she redefines the relationship between pie and those who love it with poems, stories and discussion.

Kate Lebo owns the Seattle Pie School, has won the annual Cake vs. Pie competition in Washington State for the past few years, and is author of the new book "A Commonplace Book of Pie." She also teaches creative writing at the University of Washington and writes poetry.

What: Cake Mix and the Rise of Convenience Foods
When: Sunday, Nov. 24
Time: 2 p.m.

The postwar years of the late 1940s and 1950s ushered in a new era of kitchen conveniences. Many of the technologies that made this possible were developed by the American food industry during the Second World War. Did housewives want these easy-to-use products and appliances or were food companies creating a market for their goods by exaggerating the drudgery of home cooking? Using the example of the cake mix, this demonstration will answer this question, highlighting the dramatic changes in cooking habits during this era and how those innovations affect our lives today. Visitors will learn about food history, sample cakes made from scratch and from mix, and take home a copy of a recipe.

About 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.