Minnesota Discovery Center

Our Vision:

A community treasure that celebrates the past, present and future of northeastern Minnesota.

Our Mission:

Minnesota Discovery Center (MDC) advances the understanding and exploration of Minnesota culture and history with a focus on northeastern Minnesota and the Iron Range.

Guiding Principles:

Excellence — We encourage innovation, creative solutions and a culture of continuous learning and improvement
Service — We provide service that is warm and responsive, based on an understanding of the communities we serve.
Professionalism — We perform our work in a professional manner that promotes careful and responsible management of all that is entrusted to our care.
Respect — We hold our guests, patrons and team members in high regard.
Integrity —  We act in a truthful, ethical manner... we do the right thing.
Teamwork — We value working together to achieve common goals.

About Us:

Minnesota Discovery Center a nonprofit institution and the state's largest museum complex outside of the Twin Cities metro area, and is comprised of a Museum, Research Center, and Park. Encompassing 660 acres, Minnesota Discovery Center tells the story of the Iron Range, it's people and its culture through exhibits, interpretation, programming and research materials. The center highlights the story of the predominantly European immigrants who migrated to this region at the turn of 20th century to find work in the burgeoning iron ore industry.

Minnesota Discovery Center’s Museum is a 33,000-square-foot facility that houses artifacts, examines mining methods, explores regional geology, and hosts traveling exhibits that help illuminate the spirit and sensibilities of Iron Range pioneers and their descendants. A special area of the museum is dedicated to the life and work of Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich, a Hibbing native.

Minnesota Discovery Center’s Research Center is a 14,000-square-foot facility that includes a special library and archives that collects historically significant written, oral and visual records of Minnesota’s Iron Ranges and the Taconite Assistance Area. The 7,000 volume library focuses on the regional and local history of northeastern Minnesota. Over the past 20 years it has become a premiere destination for those seeking regional genealogical data. As a sanctioned government records repository, the archives contains more than 4,000 collections, including: records from local and regional units of government, personal and family papers, organizational and corporate records, topographic and mining maps, photographs, and regional oral histories.