Bell Museum
Historic wildlife dioramas, living animals, geology, evolution, and a digital planetarium connect Minnesota ecosystems with planetary time.
Artwork inspired by Francis Lee Jaques
Francis Lee Jaques’s habitat dioramas are both ecological teaching tools and artifacts of museum history. Their painted depth, specimens, and carefully staged relationships reward slow viewing, especially when compared with the live-animal lab and current conservation interpretation.
The Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium shifts scale from local habitat to the universe. A strong visit pairs one Minnesota biome with one sky program, asking how scientists reconstruct systems they cannot observe all at once—from a seasonal food web to the structure of a galaxy.
- Founded
- 1872
- Diorama artist
- Francis Lee Jaques
- Planetarium
- 120 seats
Quick guide
- Earth anchor
- Trace Minnesota habitats through the historic dioramas
- Sky anchor
- Reserve a planetarium show before gallery entry
Compare how museums model a habitat and a universe
- Start with
- Study the Jaques habitat dioramas as both ecological records and carefully constructed works of visual persuasion.
- Look closely at
- Use the Touch & See Lab to investigate specimens through handling, questions, and close comparison.
- Connect the story
- Let the planetarium widen the museum’s scale from Minnesota ecosystems to Earth and the night sky.
- Plan around
- Choose a planetarium show before arrival because its fixed start time should anchor the rest of the visit.
Good to know
Planetarium seats are separately timed and can sell out; general museum admission does not ensure a place in the next show.
Notice these
- Jaques habitat dioramas
- Touch & See Lab
- MacMillan Planetarium