Events

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

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Our Hallowed Ground honors those of the Greatest Generation who served a nation in its darkest hour. 

From the sailors on the USS Ward who fired the first shots at Pearl Harbor, to a Japanese-American army medic who served in a devastated Hiroshima, author Stephen Chicoine chronicles the untold personal experiences of World War II heroes. 

This lecture will take place inside the Plank Museum & Visitor Center. Author signing after lecture, with books available for purchase. 

Advance registration not required.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Get tickets

Walk the Minneapolis riverfront and learn about its dramatic past. On this tour, participants will visit the historic district at St. Anthony Falls, which was once the milling center of the world and is now a growing cultural, recreational, and residential neighborhood.

Your guide will share stories of the people who have lived and worked along the riverfront and how it has changed over the years. Participants will see how the neighborhood has evolved over the years, and will learn about the riverfront renaissance over the last forty years through historic preservation and new development.

Highlights of the outdoor tour include the National Historic Engineering Landmark Stone Arch Bridge, and St. Anthony Falls, the only significant waterfall on the Mississippi River.

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Get tickets

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Get tickets

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

“Photography and Art at the Rock,” a rotating monthly exhibit in the lobby of the visitor center at Split Rock Lighthouse, showcases landscape and wildlife photographers and artists of the area. 

Our featured artist for the month of June is MaryBeth Kiczenski.

Meet MaryBeth and talk with her about her work and approach. Her photos will be on display at the visitor center from June 1 through June 30.

About MaryBeth Kiczenski
For the past decade, Marybeth has crisscrossed the country working for auto shows. This unique job allowed her to share her love for cars and landscape photography.

She enjoys finding the "little scenes." A bulk of her work features wide and low angle scenes, giving an up and close view of a smaller setting within a larger one. She is also a nightscape fanatic and uses a variety of tools to bring out the detail that can be hidden in the the night sky.

As an automotive enthusiast, outside of work she enjoys racing her 1995 Eagle Talon TSI AWD. This car she built taught her invaluable lessons in patience and perseverance. These traits are helpful when waiting all night for that elusive aurora borealis to show.

She has a degree in Creative Studies in Animation and Digital Media, but she found that photography is where her heart belongs with astrophotography being her absolute favorite.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

The first in a series of public art installments at the Minnesota State Capitol, Our Austin, Our America from photographer William Taufic is an art exhibit that features portrait photography telling the story of immigrants, refugees, and other newcomers who have made their home in Austin, Minnesota. The artist presents the small town as a positive example of how communities can embrace growing diversity.

The collection is on display at the Capitol from March 13–June 30 in the 3rd Floor Exhibit Gallery.

Our Austin, Our America is part of a public art gallery that exists for Minnesota artists to tell Minnesota stories. Artists are selected by the Capitol Art Exhibit Advisory Committee and approved by the State Capitol Preservation Commission.

The selection process ensures a range of artists are considered and that, over the course of many exhibits, the art reflects the broad diversity and experiences of Minnesotans. Preference is given to artists currently living in Minnesota or who were living in the state at the time the art was portrayed.

“Photography and Art at the Rock,” a rotating monthly exhibit in the lobby of the visitor center at Split Rock Lighthouse, showcases landscape and wildlife photographers and artists of the area. 

Our featured artist for the month of June is MaryBeth Kiczenski.

Meet MaryBeth and talk with her about her work and approach. Her photos will be on display at the visitor center from June 1 through June 30.

About MaryBeth Kiczenski
For the past decade, Marybeth has crisscrossed the country working for auto shows. This unique job allowed her to share her love for cars and landscape photography.

She enjoys finding the "little scenes." A bulk of her work features wide and low angle scenes, giving an up and close view of a smaller setting within a larger one. She is also a nightscape fanatic and uses a variety of tools to bring out the detail that can be hidden in the the night sky.

As an automotive enthusiast, outside of work she enjoys racing her 1995 Eagle Talon TSI AWD. This car she built taught her invaluable lessons in patience and perseverance. These traits are helpful when waiting all night for that elusive aurora borealis to show.

She has a degree in Creative Studies in Animation and Digital Media, but she found that photography is where her heart belongs with astrophotography being her absolute favorite.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Experience an Independence Day from the late 1890s at Historic Fort Snelling at the reconstructed stone fort. The festivities include a military parade, historical military music from our Historic Fort Snelling Fifes and Drums, and cannon salutes.

Programming will span the entire 23 acre site including the new prairie landscape, the Plank Museum & Visitor Center, and of course the reconstructed historic fort.

Included with regular site admission.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Participants will have an interpreter-guided experience to interact with the tools and objects of the daily life of the people of the prairie. 

A travois, for example, is a tool constructed of two joined poles lashed together and pulled by a horse or dog. How was this tool suited to the landscape? Find out through this first-hand look.

Register

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Get tickets

Take a 90-minute walking tour of the Summit Avenue neighborhood, highlighting the Gilded Age mansions lining the elite avenue and the people who owned and built them. Guides will talk about the architecture, social history, and current preservation issues of this historic neighborhood.

The tour starts at the James J. Hill House and covers 1.5 miles. All areas are accessible for those with mobility concerns, but some side streets are cobblestone and have historic stone curbs. Tours do not include home interiors.

Get tickets

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.

Join Forest History Center staff on a kayak adventure exploring the natural history of the Mississippi River. We'll be on the lookout for beaver, birds, bugs, bulrushes and so much more.

Learn how the river has impacted our landscape and our history. Come get your feet wet and have some fun on a guided tour of our little stretch of the mighty Mississippi.

Must be 10 years of age or older to participate. Those 17 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult. Admission to Forest History Center not included.

There are two tandem kayaks available and six single kayaks available for each tour.