The Bakken

The Bakken Museum was established by inventor Earl Bakken, who also founded the medical technology company Medtronic in 1949.^[2] Bakken had always been fascinated with electricity and innovation. During his childhood, he, a self-identified "nerd," conceived a basic electroshock device at school as a means of repelling bullies.^[3][4]

At Bakken's proposal in 1969, Dennis Stillings, then employed in Medtronic's library, initiated the acquisition of books and devices. By 1974, the collection had garnered recognition within antiquarian circles and was presented with two assortments of early electrical devices. Initially housed at the Medtronic headquarters in Saint Anthony Village, Minnesota, the collection expanded to occupy a floor in the Medtronic branch office in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota by 1975. In 1976, the exhibit started relocating to its current site.^[5]

Previously sponsored by the museum, the Bakken Quartet showcased chamber music performances onsite. Presently,^[when?] the ensemble operates under the name Bakken Trio and continues to deliver musical performances in Saint Paul, Minnesota.^[6]

The museum houses approximately 11,000 written works and around 2,000 scientific instruments, with a particular focus on electrophysiology and electrotherapeutics. Notable holdings include works authored by Jean Antoine Nollet, Benjamin Franklin, Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini, Alessandro Volta, Guillame Benjamin Amand Duchenne, and Emil Heinrich Du Bois-Reymond. The museum also holds journals such as Annalen der Physik, the Philosophical Transactions, Proceedings of the Royal Society, and Zeitschrift für Physik.^[7]

The museum has an exhibit dedicated to Frankenstein, which explores the intersection of electricity and medicine depicted in Mary Shelley's novel. The novel, as well as the subsequent 1931 film adaptation featuring Boris Karloff, directly influenced Bakken's pursuit of invention. Bakken's endeavors culminated in his invention of the pacemaker and the establishment of Medtronic.^[1]

The museum's permanent exhibits are^[8]

Architect Carl A. Gage constructed the building between 1928 and 1930 as the residence of William Goodfellow, who had sold his dry goods store in 1904 to George Dayton, the founder of what is now Target Corporation. Reflecting a blend of 16th-century English architectural styles, including Tudor and Gothic Revival, the home was christened "West Winds" and boasted features such as dark wood interior paneling, open-beamed ceilings, grouped and arched windows, and stained glass. Originally comprising fifteen rooms and eleven bathrooms, the property was bequeathed to the Girl Scouts upon Goodfellow's passing in 1944. Subsequently, the Cornelius family occupied the residence from 1953 to 1976, after which it transitioned into the Bakken Museum.

In 1999, the museum underwent an expansion project, effectively doubling its size from 13,000 square feet (1,208 square meters) to 25,000 square feet (2,323 square meters).^[10] An underground vault measuring 1,200 square feet (111 square meters), constructed in 1981, safeguards the collection by maintaining a consistent temperature of 65 °F (18 °C) and a relative humidity of 55 percent.^[5]

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  A Frankenstein display
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  Flower in a Bakken garden
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  Bakken Museum sign
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  Inside the museum
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  Theremin display, which visitors can play