Collections
The Duluth Children's Museum Collection
How It Began
The Duluth Children’s Museum, the fifth oldest children’s museum in the nation is a collections based organization. It was founded by 
Mabel Mackinney Wing in 1930 as a learning resource and housed in an unused classroom.
Furnished with “orange crates and a few stuffed birds”, Miss Wing soon began to accumulate an eclectic collection of objects from all parts of the world thanks in part to her travels abroad and to the generosity of many charitable patrons.
The Collection Today
Today, the Duluth Children’s Museum is home to many exceptional objects too numerous to mention or see all at once. It has over 15,000 objects in its collection including 1,410 dolls, 268 pieces of additional doll clothing and accessories, 389 toys and games, 254 fine art objects, 614 textiles including rugs and tapestries, 3,603 natural history specimens, 362 pieces of jewelry, 451 ceramic and glassware pieces, 113 musical instruments from around the world, 401 carvings, 1,003 pieces of apparel including 37 wedding ensembles, 1,690 apparel accessories, 582 Native American objects, and 438 pieces of armor and weaponry.
The collection includes some very unusual items such as a 2 ¼” X 1 ½” clay tablet with cuneiform writing on both sides that records a day’s sale of animals used for sacrifices in temples throughout a city. It was written around 2,000 B.C. and comes from Babylon during the Third Dynasty of Ur. Each object in the collection tells a story, enriches us and expands our knowledge about the world around us.
Expanding Our Reach
The Duluth Children’s Museum is dedicated to sharing its collection with the public by maximizing the visibility of its cultural resources in as many ways as possible. The museum is currently engaged in an extended loan of its Native American objects to the Tweed Museum of Art at the University of Minnesota Duluth. It is traveling some objects in exhibits to the local school system through the Museum on the Move program. Other objects continue to be incorporated on a regular basis in displays at the museum to complement rotating hands-on exhibits. The vision for the future is to make the collection available electronically as a learning and teaching resource. This can only happen with the help of the entire community. To find out how you can help call the Duluth Children’s museum at 218-733-7543.
A Continued Commitment
The Duluth Children’s Museum is committed to the responsible management of its collection. It is a proud participant in the Institute of Museum and Library Services Connecting to Collections initiative to raise public awareness of the importance of caring for our nations treasures.
Preserving your own collection at home for future generations?
This month’s preservation tip: Photographs. (Adapted from the Library of Congress and the Institute of Museum and Library Services)
- Find a stable storage space: Store items in a clean storage area where you can keep the temperature at 68 degrees or less and the humidity between 30 and 40 percent. Provide good air circulation. Check regularly for signs of pests. Avoid attics and basements.
- Protect from light: All light causes fading and other damage. Store and display items away from natural and artificial light. Display framed items on interior walls away from sunlight.
- Handle with care: If you mount photos, don’t use PVC, glue, pressure sensitive tape or adhesive or “magnetic” pages. Don’t use paper clips, rubber bands or staples. Store prints and negatives separately. Keep dust under control to prevent scratches.
For more preservation information, check out: