History

The Duluth Children’s Museum was established in 1930 by Mabel McKinney Wing as a resource for children and teachers and is the fifth oldest children’s museum in the nation.

The museum was founded during the Great Depression with the ideal that children should have access to educational opportunities beyond the resources of the school.

The original museum was located in a classroom in the Salter School but in 1954 the Chisholm family offered their home on 1832 E. 2 nd St. and the museum was relocated and renamed the A.M. Chisholm Museum. In 1975 the museum moved to the Duluth Depot and in 1994 reclaimed its original name.

In May 2012 the Duluth Children’s Museum relocated to the Clyde Park development, and in 2021 the museum opened its doors in it's current location on West Superior Street in Lincoln Park.

The museum has had only five executives in the course of its existence; Mabel Wing served from 1930 to 1965; Bonnie Cusick served from 1965 to 2004; Michael Garcia served from 2004 to 2014; Cameron Kruger served from 2014-2023; and Drew Jensen began serving in 2023.

Historical Collection

The Museum has a diverse artifact collection of over 10,000 objects that are drawn from the lives and cultures of the local population, as well as travels abroad. Objects include antique and contemporary toys and dolls, natural history specimens and fossils, models of ships, antique household items, and more.

Due to the museum's currently limited space, we can only display a small selection of items at a time. Our remodeling plan will allow us to expand our exhibit space and feature more items from the historical collection.

For collection questions, please contact our Executive Director. We are not taking new acquisitions at this time.