Becker County museum eying a high-profile exhibit for Detroit Lakes; community sponsorships being sought

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – The Becker County Museum received a $5,000 sponsorship from the Detroit Lakes city council for a potential, high-profile exhibit that could land in Detroit Lakes this September.

Becky Mitchell, executive director of the Becker County Historical Society and Museum, said this exhibit kind of fell into the museum’s lap because of a cancelation and would be a true draw for the town, if we can raise the funds to snatch it up.

“This is a high-end exhibit that we could bring to our community and I explained earlier that the museum, the science center opened a few months ago and we are busy, busy, busy,” said Mitchell, during the city council meeting. “We are seeing lots of new memberships, and all of that is good, but we are also seeing very high bills with the new building and new utilities, so I’m trying to boost beyond our community. Bringing in greater tourism and greater (interest) from outside the area.”

Mitchell and members of the city council both agreed the exhibit would be a huge hit with school-aged children for potential field trips, but would also be worthwhile for older residents and history buffs alike.

She added, typically, this exhibit would cost upwards of $160,000, but she was able to negotiate the price down to about $90,000. Unfortunately, they will need to raise about $45,000 in sponsorships before they can official book the exhibit tour.

“It checks all of the buttons,” she said. “It’s history, science, art and it will touch not only our facility, but our neighbors as well. So, I’m just really wanting to bring in this exhibit and offer it to our community as a very strong educational component. In talking with other entities that have had this exhibit, we should expect to see large school groups, and we should expect to see … that tourism component while keeping (the cost) reasonable for our school groups and our members.”

Following the presentation, council members voted unanimously to approve $5,000 to go toward the exhibit and also said they may want to contribute more funds to limit the cost burden on the Detroit Lakes school district, if the museum raises enough money to officially book the exhibit.

If any resident or business is interested in learning more about exhibit tour, or sponsoring the 4-month exhibition, they should contact Becky Mitchell at the Becker County Museum for more details.