We're so excited to announce that a wide selection of materials from the Minnesota Academy of Science’s 150 year archive is now available to the public through the Minnesota Digital Library (MDL)! This exciting project celebrates our 150th anniversary and was led by Kristine Fowler, our versatile Science Bowl Manager.

This digitization project helps tell the story of how the Minnesota Academy of Science (MAS) has promoted science in Minnesota throughout our 150 year history. The historical material celebrates the accomplishments of science and scientists in Minnesota while providing an opportunity to interrogate the systemic limitations of that work. It also raises awareness of current MAS programs.

Digitized MAS materials outline Minnesota’s scientific record in many disciplines and trace the development of scientific professional organizations in the state. The publicly-accessible MDL collection of MAS materials includes:

the 1873 constitution and bylaws
a manuscript outlining MAS history by lead founder Newton H. Winchell
the 1932 re-founding constitution and bylaws
the MAS Annual Meeting program for 1899 (the earliest found so far)
various MAS Annual Meeting programs from 1933 to the present - these programs usually show the location and schedule of events as well as the titles, authors and/or abstracts of scientific papers delivered by participants
and much more

Digitization and inclusion in MDL radically improves the accessibility of these documents to the public, opening doors to future research and inquiry.