The Bakken

Annual
Report
2000

Grounded in the Past

Wired for the Future



The Bakken Library and Museum is a nonprofit center for learning and education that furthers the understanding of the history, cultural context, and applications of electricity and magnetism in the life sciences and their benefits to contemporary society. 

A Message from Earl Bakken

It gives me great pleasure to introduce this report on all the wonderful progress at The Bakken Library and Museum during the first year of the new millennium. 

I hope you will enjoy reading about the great things that The Bakken has done to help young people discover and develop their enthusiasm for scientific discovery. 

Now that the dust has settled on our expansion and renovation project, the programs and exhibits are really blossoming. One of my personal favorites is our new Frankenstein exhibit. As some of you know, I was inspired to study the uses of electricity to enhance life when I saw the Frankenstein film that starred Boris Karloff in 1931. I was just 8 or 9 years old then, and it really made a deep impression on me! My dream has been that The Bakken's exhibits and education programs will inspire today's youth to use science and technology to improve people's lives. And now that dream is coming to life! 

Also heartening to me is the increasing flow of public support for The Bakken. In recent years, as The Bakken has served greater numbers of people, public support has broadened and deepened. I would like to thank all the individuals, companies, foundations, and government agencies listed in this report. We deeply appreciate their financial contributions, in-kind donations, and many hours of volunteer service. 

Supporting The Bakken over the years has given me a feeling of great personal fulfillment. I hope that many more people will join me in offering their support for The Bakken's educational mission. There's so much left for us to do! 

Sincerely, Earl E. Bakken, Founder and Chairman

A Word from the Executive Director

Thanks to the support of our founder Earl Bakken, our Board of Directors, and the increasing number of our contributors and volunteers, the Year 2000 was an exciting one for The Bakken Library and Museum. From our solid grounding in the past, The Bakken officially re-opened to the public in June 1999, wired for the future. This was our first full calendar year of operating with our expanded facility and new and improved programs and exhibits. A prodigious amount of behind-the-scenes work was required to make these things happen, and I want to offer a special word of thanks to our creative and energetic staff. 

It is very gratifying to me to see how much our unique exhibits, programs, building and grounds are being appreciated by the public. One comment that sticks in my mind was sent to us by one of our mentoring program students while on a family summer vacation. On the back of a postcard showing a San Francisco trolley, this young man wrote: "Wish I was there!" Stronger testimony to the effectiveness of our education programs would be hard to find! 

This Annual Report offers a way for us to share these successes with the wider community. We hope you will find it both useful and inspiring. 

Sincerely, David J. Rhees, Ph.D., Executive Director



All Charged Up at The Bakken

Grounded in the Past 

We are grounded in the rich heritage of scientific inquiry and knowledge derived from the scientists, inventors, scholars, researchers and educators who have preceded us.

Since its founding in 1975, The Bakken has been a leader in preserving the history of electricity and magnetism in life. Today, The Bakken proudly holds the world's largest collection of books and artifacts in this field, providing a solid foundation for The Bakken as a center for education and learning. Since the mid-1980s The Bakken has offered quality education programs incorporating creative learning techniques that blend science with history, literature, and the arts. In 1999, with the help of Earl Bakken, the Medtronic Foundation and others, we completed renovation of the existing building and construction of a 12,000 square-foot new wing. The new award-winning building provides unique interactive exhibits and state-of-the-art education and research facilities. Our 25 years of carefully accumulated historical resources and staff expertise are powerful assets as we continue to expand our services for students, families, teachers, scholars, and the general public.

Wired for the Future 

We are wired to be an innovative educational resource for our entire community. 

The Bakken today is a unique and synergistic blend of visitor-friendly exhibits, science education programs and extensive scholarly collections. Our community presence has grown from a filled-to-capacity field trip program and popular Family Science Saturdays to include: engaging exhibits that bring science to life; outreach programs with inner-city schools; a mentoring program for youth ages 9-18; curriculum resources for educators; and a growing web site with resources for youth, families, teachers and scholars. We have continued to expand, tripling our staff in seven years so that it includes the educators and curators necessary to offer ever-improving programs, exhibits and collections, and the development, marketing and financial expertise necessary to ensure a solid community presence. We are thankful for the public support we currently receive and depend upon, and are aggressively seeking to increase this support to continue meeting the needs of our community. 

"This place is fun, cool and neat, but most of all, you learn things. It is awesome here!" 
- Bakken student

Making A Shocking Impact

Nearly 20,000 people had an electrifying experience at The Bakken
• Nearly 8,000 students participated in our formal education programs
• Over 7,500 students attended Field Trip Programs
• Scholarships were provided to more than 91 school groups, impacting over 2300 students 
• More than 40 youth emulated scientists from the past in our Historic Docent Program
• Approximately 800 teachers and public school staff members attended workshops 
• Over 1,900 family members had a shocking good time at Family Science Saturdays
• 50 family, single and dual memberships were issued in support of our programs since the inception of our Membership Program in September 2000
• Over 200 friends gave their financial support and volunteer time for our programs
• Over 100 mentors & volunteers donated their time to help students and visitors

Awards

• "CUE" Award from the City of Minneapolis's Committee on the Urban Environment
• "Best Renovation" award from Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine
• Preservation Award for "New Addition to a Historic Building" from the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission and the Minnesota American Institute of Architects (Many thanks to our architect Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle and general contractor Mortenson Co.)
• "Best Field Trip" from Countryside Elementary School (including a student-raised donation of $226.91)

Special Events

• The Bakken hosted over 200 events totaling over 5000 attendees
• Over 100 people attended our Garden Tea "friend-raiser"
• Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's Dream opened to a sold-out crowd

Research

• Approximately 400 grade school students, professors and other researchers utilized the collection 
• Our research facility received over 120 visits
• 8 scholars received fellowships enabling them to utilize our collections
• Approximately 220 people attended 10 lectures
• Earl Bakken presented "Turning Medicine Around" to a packed audience, reviving the Conversazione lecture series
• Growth of our historical collection continued with the addition of 100 books and 84 artifacts

Sparking Life into our Community

The Bakken broke new ground with a dramatic, new permanent multi-media exhibit on Frankenstein. The media excitement over the exhibit, which included coverage by newspapers and the five major Twin Cities television networks, was a major boost to The Bakken's visibility.

Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's Dream, sponsored in part by the Minnesota Humanities Commission, opened on October 14 to a sold-out crowd. A 12-minute "object theater" show draws the visitor into Victor's laboratory. Mary Shelley's words conclude the show, guiding the visitor to explore her life and the science of her time.

Connecting Kids with Mentors

The Bakken knows how important mentors are when it comes to helping youth follow their dreams. That's why we provide a variety of opportunities for kids to work closely with scientists and engineers. Highlights of our mentoring programs include: 

Over 115 students became inventors in the Earl Bakken Science Program in 2000. This Saturday program for ages 9-14 connects youth with mentors to foster interest in science and encourages self-directed learning through the process of invention. 

Over 40 students participated in the historic docent program, linking youth with mentor scientists from the past. Docents find inspiration from famous and not-so-famous scientists and interpret these historical figures in full costume and character at Family Science Saturdays and other events. 

Earl's Garage was piloted in 2000. This outreach version of our Saturday mentoring program brings volunteer and staff mentors to local inner-city schools.

Plugged In to Partnerships

We continue to be an active partner within our community and foster collaborations with others to spark the interest of science in many lives. Among the many valuable partnerships are:

• Family Science Saturday partnerships with inner-city Minneapolis Schools that provide a full-circle experience, engaging students, their teachers and families in on-site and off-site science education, historic docent training and interactive, educational fun.

• A high-voltage opera titled "The First Voyage of Science" that was written, produced and performed by students from Twin Cities Academy, about Sir Edmond Halley's 1699 expedition to study magnetic variation. The opera, performed twice to standing-room-only crowds, is an example of the creative way The Bakken utilizes history, arts and science to educate.

• A focus group of young adults that collaborated with Bakken staff to design the new Frankenstein exhibit and the messages it projects.



Statement of Financial Position

Many Thanks to our Current Supporters !

The Bakken wishes to thank the following individuals,  companies and foundations for contributions during 2000. In particular, we wish to gratefully acknowledge the steadfast support of Earl and Doris Bakken.

Museum Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 to 5
Thursdays 10 am to  8pm 
Closed Major Holidays
Library Hours: Monday - Friday 9 to 4:30

Admission: $7 Adults; $5 Students & Seniors; Children 3 and under are FREE!

© The Bakken Updated: April 6, 2007