[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25988]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SCIENCE MUSEUM OF MINNESOTA

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                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 27, 2007

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate the 
Science Museum of Minnesota on its Centennial Anniversary. As its 
mission states, during its 100 year history, the Science Museum has 
offered innovative ways allow learners of all ages to experience their 
changing world through science.
  The Science Museum of Minnesota is deeply ingrained in our state's 
history. Its creation was the result of a strong desire among early St. 
Paul businessmen to foster intellectual and scientific growth in 
Minnesota's capital city. The St. Paul Institute of Science and Letters 
was born in 1907, later to become the Science Museum of Minnesota. The 
original exhibits began when thousands of scientific specimens and 
valuable collections were offered as gifts, including a mummy shipped 
from Egypt by a vacationing St. Paul couple. Since then, the collection 
has been expanded to include more than 1.75 million objects, including 
a beloved Triceratops--one of only four mounted examples anywhere in 
the world. Visitors are also able to climb aboard an authentic 
Mississippi River towboat that moved barges on the river.
  The museum was an early innovator in the use of live theater as an 
interpretive tool and continues to be a training ground for other 
museums wishing to include live programming. Today from its home on the 
bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, the Science Museum of 
Minnesota it is a world-renowned institution of scientific exploration. 
The museum's interactive exhibits, traveling exhibitions and 
Omnitheater films are a major draw for visitors. Permanent galleries 
such as Dinosaurs and Fossils and the Human Body, and touring exhibits 
such as Body Worlds and A Day in Pompeii educate and attract more than 
one million people per year who are eager to learn about our scientific 
world.
  The museum provides innovative staff development programs for 
teachers throughout the region and science education outreach programs 
for K-12 classrooms. Programs serving schools directly reached 262,055 
students and 1,540 teachers in Minnesota last year, taking science 
beyond the 4 walls of the museum and into the 4 corners of the state. 
Innovation extends to the use of new technologies to educate visitors 
about science. The museum's research and collections division and St. 
Croix Watershed Research Station provide significant ongoing scientific 
research in the areas of anthropology, paleontology, biology, and 
environmental sciences.
  Madam Speaker, it is my honor to congratulate the Science Museum of 
Minnesota for its celebration of its 100 years of service to the 
community. The Science Museum of Minnesota provides an exhilarating 
learning experience to all learners, and serves as a model of an 
exceptional educational facility.

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