iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

We’re closed today, June 19, for Juneteenth! We hope to see you tomorrow, 10 am–4 pm! Learn more about our admissions and hours, including our new summer hours, at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/admissions

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Pitcher plants, venus fly traps... sundews? Learn more about this underrated kind of carnivorous plant, and the research that uncovered its fascinating genetic lineage, at the new blog post on our website: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/sundew-evolution.

The tiny spatula-shaped leaves of a sundew plant radiate outwards, red against brown grasses.

A figure stands in the middle of a large expanse of grass, with pine trees far in the background.

A small white flower grows from a sundew plant. The sticky dew of the plant shines in the light.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Statewide Camps are back, and you can still sign up! Hosted in partnership with University of Minnesota Research & Outreach Stations in Grand Rapids, Waseca, Lamberton, and Crookston, today marks the first day of science learning and fun for statewide campers. Register your camper on our website!

Children are hidden by bright green corn stalks as they run past.

A girl sits at a table, writing in a journal. An oak leaf sticks out from her headband, covering her forehead. Behind her, a tablecloth on a table reads "Bell Museum."

An older woman and a young girl look together at a large grub, preserved in a jar. Next to them is a case of preserved butterflies.

A group of kids jumps up and down in a classroom, excited. Most of the kids wear orange Bell Museum camp shirts.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Photo dump! Luke Tonsfeldt spent the past two years searching for bullfrogs across Minnesota, testing water samples for frog DNA. The project, funded through @mnenrtf, shows an expansion in bullfrog range and answers questions about the origin of Minnesota's largest frog. Read more on the Bell blog!

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Happy fishing-opener, Minnesota! Did you know that the Bell Museum is home to Wilma the Walleye, the second-largest walleye recorded in the state? Say hi to Wilma next time you are visiting the Touch & See Room at the museum, and visit our blog to hear more about how this lake monster was landed.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

When is the last time you said hello to the mammoth at the Bell Museum? Video description: a mammoth mascot faces the camera and then turns toward a larger, life-sized mammoth.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

A special day at Split Rock Lighthouse! Bell Museum staff led bird-themed activities at our recent community science day at the Minnesota Historical Society's Split Rock Lighthouse. Missed us on Saturday? No worries! We have a host of statewide activities on deck for this summer.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Meet us on the North Shore this weekend! The Bell is excited to partner with Split Rock Lighthouse on May 2, as we celebrate the birds that are migrating through the state. Borrow some binoculars, check out specimens from the Bell Museum collections, or work on bird-themed crafts!

A man and woman lean together, looking closely at a craft. Behind them is a map of Minnesota.

A Bell Museum employee looks at an iPad, with a telescope nearby, as several members of the public look on. Behind the employee is the bright blue water of Lake Superior.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Meet Risa Lee Lama-Luther, a 2025 Graduate Award & Fellowship Recipients! Risa’s work examines thousands of primate teeth to understand the diet and evolution of our earliest ape ancestors. www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/grad-awards/…

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Statewide Bell Museum camps are now enrolling! Hosted in partnership with University of Minnesota Research & Outreach Centers, our camps bring field trips, science experiments, and hands-on fun to Grand Rapids, Crookston, Lamberton and Waseca. Sign your camper up on our website!

Three children in a science lab show off a clear jar that contains two large grubs.

Two children look out over a flowering prairie. One child holds a white net, the other holds binoculars.

A group of children walks across pavement, holding aloft stalks of corn.

Two girls sit at a table, writing in notebooks. One girl has attached an oak leaf to her headband, covering her face.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Meet Aiym Bakytbaikyzy, a 2025 Graduate Award & Fellowship Recipients! Aiym studies how fungi & bacteria interact to shape the fate of carbon in decaying wood. Learn more at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/grad-awards/…

bellmuseum.umn.edu

Aiym Bakytbaikyzy - Bell Museum

Learn more about Aiym Bakytbaikyzy's research on how microbial interactions shape the fate of carbon in decaying wood.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

When solar-powered GPS trackers were losing power prematurely, researchers studying green herons headed to the Bell Museum collections to problem solve. In this blog post (link in bio), learn why tracking bird movement is essential for conservation and how UMN researchers are studying green herons.

Three researchers look closely at two preserved birds, sitting on a green countertop. White shelves and bones are in the background.

A preserved bird with a brown neck, a long beak, and shiny feathers, sits next to other birds in a drawer.

A preserved Heron, with a white tag attached to its leg, and a small antenna placed on its back.

A woman hands a small, preserved bird, down to a man. They stand in front of white drawers holding many preserved birds.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

This week, the staff at the Bell will be taking some time to reflect on the past year and prepare for the exciting things in store during 2026. This means that the museum will be closed to the public January 5–9. Visit our website for more information on our hours and admissions.

A person with a baby in a carrier and a young child looking intently at a museum exhibit.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

The Bell is closed on December 24, 25, and January 1. We are open for special hours on December 29 and 30. Stay warm and we hope to see you soon! Learn more about our hours and admissions at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/admissions

Two visitors observing a diorama of a large elk in a natural history museum setting.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

It's planting season! While most gardens are bedded down for the winter, many native plant species require a cold period to germinate. Plus, the melting and thawing of snow works seeds into the soil. Last week, Learning Landscape Gardener Alex Wegrzyn helped students spread new seed at the Bell.

A woman in a flannel shirt extends her hand, releasing invisible seeds between her fingers. She is surrounded by brown, dead plants.

Tiny black seeds rest in the hand of a student.

A man in a yellow vest directs others toward brown plants with nodding stems full of seeds.

A man in a yellow vest and glasses hands paper envelopes of seeds to students.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

We're so proud of Bell Curator of Birds Dr. Sushma Reddy, featured at the British Ornithologists' Union conference this year. Check out her thread! #BOUasm25

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

For a few brief and beautiful minutes last night, Minnesotans across the state stopped what they were doing to step outside and catch a glimpse of the aurora. These photos were taken at the Bell by Planetarium Manager Sally Brummel. Did you experience the aurora last night? Send us your pictures!

Night view of the Bell Museum with aurora visible in the sky, featuring an informational sign with a map in the foreground.

A vivid display of the Northern Lights in a night sky, featuring streaks of pink and green above the Bell Museum.

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Reposted by Bell Museum

dr-crocogator.bsky.social @dr-crocogator.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Happy #FossilFriday! It’s #GarWeek so check out these 50 million year old #gar fish from #Utah at the Science Museum of Minnesota! This genus, Lepisosteus, goes back to the Cretaceous and is still swimming today! Thanks to @bellmuseum.bsky.social & @garlab.bsky.social for hyping these cool #fish!

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Reposted by Bell Museum

UMN English @umnenglish.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

You can hear Brandon Kilbourne read from Natural History this Wednesday at the U's @bellmuseum.bsky.social! @graywolfpress.bsky.social events.tc.umn.edu/event/25210-...

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Salvage Wildlife, Statewide! Bell curatorial staff Dr. Keith Barker and Sam Getty recently visited Salvage Wildlife partner Concordia College to teach a crash course on bird-prepping. Volunteer specimen preppers learned the ins-and-outs of turning a salvaged bird carcass into a scientific specimen!

Two women lean in, smiling, while pulling apart the red carcass of a small bird. The woman holding the bird wears blue gloves.

A man sits at a table, holding a brown and white dead bird. Students stand in a circle around him, with faces of interest and mild disgust.

Leaning over a tray of gray feathers, Bell staff member Sam Getty helps a student dissect a bird. A book that reads "Manual of Ornithology" rests on the table.

A student with long red hair hits the "dab" pose, in front of a mounted black bird wing.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Nostalgia, conversation, & climate are central to a new art installation at the Bell, Face to Face: 20 Questions that Lead to Loving the Planet. Read more about this art experience by MN artist Alyssa Baguss in our latest blog post! www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/face-to…

bellmuseum.umn.edu

Face to Face with Alyssa Baguss - Bell Museum

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

The climate is changing, but where do you fit in? Join us for Spotlight Science: Climate Action and YOU! on November 15 to find tips on how you can make large and small changes to build your climate action footprint. www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/event/spotli…

bellmuseum.umn.edu

Spotlight Science: Climate Action and YOU! - Bell Museum

Join us November 15 to learn resources and tips on how you can make large and small changes to build your climate action footprint.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Meet the Astronomy Educators that are behind the scenes of your favorite planetarium experiences! Read our recent blog post to learn more! Find it at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/meet-ou…

bellmuseum.umn.edu

Meet our Astronomy Educators! - Bell Museum

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

Come see us at ConFluence 2025! This year, the Bell Museum will be at ConFluence: Futures in Color. This 2-day convention in NE Minneapolis celebrates art, sci-fi, futurisms, and fantasy centered on content by and for Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color. www.confluencemn.com

Graphic for 'Confluence: Futures in Color' featuring colorful floral patterns against a dark background with text overlay.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Something to chew on while you read... patrons at the Austin Public Library get to "check out" a real mammoth tooth, thanks to a loan from the Bell Museum! Specimen loans are just another way we bring natural history education statewide. If you're in Austin, go say hello to the big tooth!

Mammoth themed books sit on a table, next to newspaper clippings. In the background are shelves of books.

A brown fossilized tooth on a white platform. The tooth is large, with ridges on top.

A sign reads "mammoth tooth" outside of a building.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

This past week, we were honored to host the GLPA+WAC conference! The GLPA+WAC conference is the largest gathering of planetarium experts in the Great Lakes region. The week included informational sessions, planetarium shows, & a constellation shootout, where attendees tested constellation knowledge.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

This Saturday, catch Finding Fungi, a planetarium show created by the Minnesota Mycological Society! Finding Fungi is screening as part of FungiFest, an all day fungal celebration. More at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/event/spotli…

bellmuseum.umn.edu

Spotlight Science: FungiFest - Bell Museum

Uncover the hidden world of mushrooms when you drop by the Bell Museum on September 27 for a day of fungi fun!

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

It's almost time for this year's Statewide Star Party! From Sept 17-20, host sites throughout Minnesota will become activated with astronomical celebrations. Find a location near you at www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/2025-statewi... 📸: Jeffers Petroglyphs

A long exposure photograph of star trails with a dirt road and building in the foreground

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

Calling current UMN students! We’re hiring for two student positions — Museum Guides and Planetarium Assistants! If you’re interested in connecting people to nature, science, and astronomy, these positions might be a good fit for you! Apply by Sept 15. www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/employment/

A Bell Museum astronomy student guides a planetarium experience

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

How are natural history specimens created? 🐦 Recently, we hosted our annual event, Expeditions. At this event, Bell scientists demonstrate how to prepare natural history specimens. Read more about this year’s Expeditions in our recent blog post. www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/expedit...

bellmuseum.umn.edu

Expeditions 2025 - Bell Museum

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

That’s a wrap for this year’s summer camps! Yesterday was our last day of summer camps at the Bell. Our summer camps are a huge team effort and wouldn’t be possible without all our amazing camp staff, educators, and you! Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s camps out of this world 🚀

Students practice giving a weather forecast against a whiteboard backdrop

A summer camp instructor and a student work together on a colorful craft project

A group of students in a classroom, one holding a notebook that says "Tomorrow's city, today!"

A group of students holding up craft garden projects

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Find us at the MN State Fair! • STEM Day in Dan Patch Park on Thur, Aug 21 • Eco Experience on Sat, Aug 23, & Sun, Aug 24 • #UMN Crossroads Building on Mon, Aug 25 Meet our team, connect science, and learn more about what Minnesota’s state natural history museum has to offer!

A group of fairgoers at the Minnesota State Fair with a fair ride overhead

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Do you have an assemblage of agates, a collection of coins, a plethora of Pez dispensers? We want to see all the strange and wonderful things you collect — apply to share your collection at Collectors Day! Applications are open until Sept 28. www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/collectors-d...

bellmuseum.umn.edu

Collectors Day 2025 - Bell Museum

Join us November 1, 2025 for a daylong event where members of the community are invited to share and showcase their own personal collections.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

What’s better than a meteor shower? Two meteor showers! Peaking on July 30, the Aquariid and Capricornid meteor showers are two celestial shows to catch this summer. Head out between midnight and the early morning to catch potentially dozens of meteors per hour! www.mprnews.org/story/2025/0...

mprnews.org

How to watch two meteor showers peak together in late July

It's almost time to catch summer's double meteor showers. The Southern Delta Aquariid and Alpha Capricornid meteor showers peak in the early morning of July 30. With minimal interference from moonligh...

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Reposted by Bell Museum

MSP LTER @msp-lter.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Immerse yourself in MSP LTER urban ecological research at the Bell Museum's (@bellmuseum.bsky.social) Solution Studio, the award-winning makerspace where everyone is an ecologist! Learn more in today's #MinnesotaDaily article featuring our partnership w/ the Bell z.umn.edu/SolutionStudio25-News. 1/2

z.umn.edu

UMN Bell Museum provides summer space to connect and learn about ecological research

This summer, at the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum, visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves in hands-on scientific research through a dedicated summer exhibit the museum calls the S...

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Fossils and plants: two things we love at the Bell! Researchers from the University of Florida and @floridamuseum.bsky.social discovered a new ancient family of plants - read how the Bell’s one million plant specimens helped contribute to the discovery! www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/paleobo...

bellmuseum.umn.edu

Paleobotanists Solve a Fossil Mystery in the Bell Herbarium - Bell Museum

Bell Research Associate Walt Judd identified a new family of plants from the Eocene era, with help from the Bell Museum Herbarium.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Congratulations to Bell affiliate @pjhundt.bsky.social on his recent publication, which describes several new species of studfish! Peter Hundt has added many fish specimens to the Bell’s collections. Read more about his research in our blog post: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/newly-d...

mapress.com

Phylogenomic species delimitation of studfishes (Fundulidae: Fundulus ): evidence for cryptic species in agreement with the central highlands vicariance hypothesis | Zootaxa

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

We’re thrilled to share that @arisimpacts.bsky.social has awarded the Bell’s Solution Studio the 2025 Impact Goals Award! Solution Studio, our recurring makerspace, has featured the work of scientists working on urban ecology, as part of the @msp-lter.bsky.social researchinsociety.org/awards-2025/

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Have you seen our monarchs & milkweed exhibit yet? Stop by the Bell Museum to learn more about what a day in the life of a monarch looks like!

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Reposted by Bell Museum

Justin Carfagnini @justincarf.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

I love visiting the @bellmuseum.bsky.social. I’ve seen this woolly mammoth so many times and it still intrigues me. A great place to visit if you’re ever in Saint Paul Minnesota. #saintpaul #minnesota #photograpghy #woollymamoth

Woolly Mamoth at the Bell Museum in Saint Paul

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Congratulations to PhD student Sutirtha Lahiri & Curator of Ornithology Sushma Reddy who published a letter in Science! Lahiri & Reddy’s letter highlights the need for conservation action in Indian grasslands that will help protect these unique & fragile ecosystems. www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....

science.org

India’s grasslands are not “wastelands”

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

We're more than a public museum — we’re also an active research institution. Through grad awards & fellowships, students pursue projects related to field biology, museum collections, & science edu. Learn about the 2024 Graduate Award & Fellowship recipients at: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/grad-awards/...

bellmuseum.umn.edu

2024 Graduate Award and Fellowship Recipients - Bell Museum

Learn more about the various graduate student research supported by graduate awards and fellowships during 2024!

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

It's 2025, and the Bell Museum is on Bluesky! What natural history and astronomy topics would you like to see us highlight this year? 🦣🌌

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