歪歪漫画

BEMIDJI 鈥� Exciting changes are coming to the Beltrami County Historical Society, starting with two new exhibits focused not just on connecting people to the area鈥檚 history, but their own.

Both exhibits open this weekend just in time for Memorial Day weekend and the start of summer.

The first, "High 歪歪漫画 Reminiscing," is a tie-in with the upcoming Bemidji All 歪歪漫画 Reunion which will be held in July. The exhibit will highlight different aspects of local high school life and history, much of which those who attended Bemidji High 歪歪漫画 will find familiar.

鈥淲e hope that people will feel a connection to it,鈥� said Emily Thabes, the historical society鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to be showcasing all aspects of high school throughout multiple decades.鈥�

The second exhibit, "Century of Play," is in partnership with Minnesota鈥檚 Historic Northwest, an organization that includes museums across the region.

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The collaborative exhibit will examine childhood and play, and display the different toys and games people have enjoyed throughout the centuries and approaching the modern day.

鈥淓ach specific museum will showcase toys and games from their own collection, so we鈥檙e really excited about that,鈥� Thabes said.

The exhibit will also incorporate programming and other ways to engage with history, from game nights to toys that museum visitors can interact with.

鈥淲e will have games and toys that folks can play with at the museum as part of the exhibit, and then we鈥檙e planning some different game nights,鈥� Thabes said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to be a really cool exhibit.鈥�

The goal of these exhibits and their interactive nature is to foster a personal connection with history and to help visitors recognize their own connections to it.

鈥淪ometimes people think about history as this far away thing, far behind them, something that they read about in a book or had to memorize in school,鈥� Thabes said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping that this will engage more folks with history.鈥�

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By focusing on childhood experiences and memories, Thabes also hopes that the exhibit will provide opportunities for older generations to connect with younger ones and form new memories.

鈥淓xperiences playing with toys and games for many people are experiences of joy and happiness,鈥� Thabes said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really hoping that people will gain from this a connection to their childhood and spark new memories with families and generations growing up now.鈥�

The exhibits aren鈥檛 the only exciting changes coming to the historical society, the museum has also recently expanded its hours, which was made possible by a generous donation.

The museum will now be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, something Thabes hopes will be a permanent change.

鈥淲e recognize that the limited hours that we have had are not really conducive for a lot of people,鈥� Thabes said, 鈥渨e鈥檙e hoping to make this a permanent change.鈥�

The historical society has two large ongoing projects. The first is transferring all of its records to a cloud system so that they can be accessed online, and the second is working to repatriate some Native American artifacts that are a part of its John Morrison collection.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not only really excited to be able to do right by those artifacts and by the tribes, but also we鈥檙e learning about our history and our collection,鈥� Thabes said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 going to be so valuable.鈥�

With all of these changes coming this summer, Thabes is looking forward to interacting with the community and keeping them updated on the exciting things happening with the historical society.

鈥淭here鈥檚 just a lot of really great stuff we鈥檝e been able to bring,鈥� Thabes said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been exciting to see so much growth and work done toward community history.鈥�