On a Saturday in late October, the Minnesota History Center will hand over part of its exhibit space to the public. The Great Minnesota Show & Tell, scheduled for October 24, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., is a one-day "people's exhibit" built around the 250th anniversary of the United States — and the objects on display will come from kitchen tables, closets and attics across the state rather than from the Historical Society's vaults.
The premise is exactly what the name suggests. Minnesotans are invited to apply to bring a personal object to the museum in St. Paul and stand with it for the duration of the event, explaining to visitors why it matters. The Historical Society's call for participants lists the kinds of things it has in mind: family heirlooms, service medals, memorabilia of civic engagement, historic documents, and personal keepsakes connected to important historical moments. The through-line, as the museum puts it, is how Minnesotans have been part of the American story.
It is a notably different approach for an institution that has spent more than 175 years collecting and interpreting the state's past. The Minnesota Historical Society was established in 1849, eleven years before Minnesota became a state, and it now operates a statewide network of historic sites and museums. For the semiquincentennial, that network has hosted readings, exhibits and programs — a July reading of the Declaration of Independence in the State Capitol rotunda with the Minnesota State Band, an exhibit of the state's two rival 1857 constitutions, expanded displays at Historic Fort Snelling. The Show & Tell is the piece of that programming that asks the public to supply the content.
The mechanics are deliberately simple, and the museum is upfront about the limits. Applications to showcase an object are due by October 5. Because space at the History Center is finite, not every applicant will be selected. Those who are must be present for the full three hours of the event and must personally share the significance of their object with visitors — this is a show-and-tell, not a drop-off. Participation is open to all ages, but anyone under 16 has to be accompanied by an adult for the duration.
Two caveats are worth knowing before anyone starts hauling a trunk to Kellogg Boulevard. The Historical Society says no appraisals or consultations from its staff will be available during the event, and no donations of objects will be considered. This is not an antiques roadshow and not a collecting drive; it is a conversation.
That framing is what makes the event unusual. Anniversary programming at large museums tends to arrive pre-curated, with the narrative settled before the doors open. Here the narrative is assembled from whatever applicants bring and are willing to talk about — which means the story of Minnesota's place in 250 years of American history will be told in whatever proportions the applicants supply. A Medal of Honor and a grandmother's naturalization papers and a union button from a 1930s strike could all end up in the same room, each with its owner standing beside it.
The setting suits the experiment. The Minnesota History Center opened in 1992 on a ten-acre site near downtown St. Paul, after a 1985 national design competition won by the Minneapolis firm HGA. Its exterior of copper, terra cotta and Minnesota stone and its vaulted glass atrium have made it one of the state's more recognizable public buildings, and it draws more than 250,000 visitors a year. On October 24, some of those visitors will be meeting their neighbors' history rather than the institution's.
Admission to the Show & Tell is included with regular site admission, and the museum encourages visitors to reserve tickets in advance. The application form and rules are posted on the Historical Society's website, along with a set of frequently asked questions for prospective exhibitors.
For a quarter-millennium anniversary, the museum's own framing is modest: a true show-and-tell. The objects will be personal, the stories will be first-person, and the history on display will be the kind that usually stays in the family. The Great Minnesota Show & Tell runs Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul.