From towering dinosaur fossils to modern masterpieces, museums spark curiosity and bring stories to life. Now, it’s your turn to become the curator. Washington County Parks invites you to create a Micro Museum — a fully imagined exhibit on any topic you love, all within the walls of a shoebox.
Research, design, and display your miniature museum at the Washington County Historic Courthouse for the community to explore.
On July 20 from 1-4 p.m., the public is invited to Micro Museum Maker’s Day, a special drop-in event where kids and families can start (or finish) their shoebox museum exhibit with support, supplies, and inspiration. The event will be held at the Historic Courthouse, located at 101 Pine. St. W., Stillwater, and there will be free museum-making materials (shoeboxes, craft supplies, labels, glue, markers, etc.) to help your creation come to life.
Completed Micro Museum shoebox exhibits will be accepted from July 21-25 at the Historic Courthouse, 101 Pine St. W., Stillwater. Drop-off hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Micro Museum exhibits will be on display from Aug. 4 through Aug. 22 at the Historic Courthouse.

Micro Museum guidelines
• Choose a topic: Pick a subject that interests you. This could be something from your home you'd like to explore further or a topic that fascinates you, like space exploration, animals, or local history.
• Gather your artifacts: Collect items for your display. These can be real objects, cut-out images from magazines, or printed pictures from the internet.
• Create your exhibit: Arrange your artifacts creatively inside a shoebox. Make it both fun and informative.
• Add a title and description: Give your museum a name and write a short description to explain your artifacts and tell the story of your exhibit.
• Keep it family-friendly: All exhibits should be appropriate for all ages to enjoy.
• Stick to the size limit: Exhibits should fit inside a standard shoebox (no larger than 15” x 15” x 7”). If your display is larger, you may submit a photo instead. Email photo submissions to HistoricCourthouse@washingtoncountymn.gov.

For questions, contact Parks staff at Parks@WashingtonCountyMN.gov or call the Historic Courthouse at 651-275-7075.
For more Washington County Parks programs and events, see WashingtonCountyMN.gov/Parks. Follow Washington County Parks on social media at @WashCountyParks.