The museum was founded by Earl Bakken, the co-founder of Medtronic who invented the first wearable artificial pacemaker.
The facility is located in the former 1930s Tudor Revival estate of William Goodfellow.
The collection contains a significant selection of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein-related materials, reflecting the intersection of electricity and early scientific horror.
The museum holds an extensive collection of rare books, including primary source texts by figures like Benjamin Franklin and Alessandro Volta.
The medicinal garden on-site is curated to display plants historically used in early pharmacological practices.
The Bakken Museum is dedicated to the history and impact of electricity and magnetism in the medical and scientific fields. Housed in a historic mansion known as West Winds, the institution features interactive exhibits exploring the development of medical devices and electromagnetic technology. The collection includes thousands of rare books, journals, and antique scientific instruments dating back to the 17th century. Visitors can engage with exhibits detailing the history of the electric light bulb, early electrotherapy, and modern biomedical engineering. The museum grounds include a medicinal garden inspired by historical botanical studies. It serves as an educational hub for STEM learning in the Twin Cities area.
The dramatic, dark-wood Tudor architecture of the grand staircase inside the main entrance.
Check the online event calendar for specific workshops or maker-space demonstrations before arriving.
Spend time in the medicinal garden if the weather is clear, as it is often quieter than the indoor exhibit spaces.
Visit the library reference desk if you are interested in researching specific historical scientific apparatuses.
Do not overlook the garden area, as many visitors focus only on the interior displays.
Closed on Mondays.
Maintain a quiet volume in the library and manuscript archives; do not touch glass-enclosed artifacts.
