Minnesota Historical Society Unveils “The Stories We Keep”

ST. PAUL, Minn (October 30, 2025) – The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) collections include more than 250,000 3D objects – as well as many thousands more manuscripts, works of art, oral histories, audio and video recordings, maps, and rare books – that chronicle our state’s history and culture. This November, the public is invited to experience greater access to history as MNHS puts items from the collections on view. 

Opening November 19, 2025, The Stories We Keep: 25 Objects from MNHS encourages visitors to the Minnesota History Center to explore how a group of remarkable objects reflects our history. The inaugural exhibit in the History Center’s new Collections Gallery brings the MNHS mission to life by opening a window into Minnesota’s past, illuminating the people, communities, and moments that continue to shape who we are today. Visitors are invited to look closely and ask questions. 

Also expanding access to the MNHS collections will be the new Collections Spotlight Gallery, which highlights Minnesota history through a rotating selection of objects. The first display, titled Paaj / Paj Ntaub: Memory, Identity, and Belonging, opens November 5, marking the 50th anniversary of the first HMong family to arrive in Minnesota. The display will include five exquisitely embroidered HMong textiles and a full-size reproduction of a HMong story cloth. Exhibit text and audio in the Green and White HMong dialects will be available at mnhs.org/hmong.

Funding provided by the State of Minnesota's Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008, and our generous donors and members.

About the Minnesota Historical Society

The Minnesota Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural institution established in 1849. MNHS 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, MNHS preserves our past, shares our state’s stories, and connects people with history.