Minnetrista facts for kids
Elizabeth Ball Center, located at the Minnetrista Cultural Center in Muncie, Indiana
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Minnetrista is a fun place in Muncie, Indiana. It's known as the home of the famous Ball Jar. It's a place where you can learn about nature, local history, gardens, and art. This big place covers 40 acres! It has a museum with new exhibits all the time. You can also visit Oakhurst, a historic home, and explore many beautiful gardens. There are cool outdoor sculptures and even a part of the White River Greenway. Minnetrista is part of a special historic area. This area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
At Minnetrista, you can visit George Alexander Ball's house. It's called Oakhurst and was built in 1895. The first floor looks just like it did in the 1920s. You can also walk around the grounds. There are many outdoor sculptures bought by the Ball family.
Minnetrista has many different gardens to explore:
- Nature Area - See three types of Indiana's native plants. There's a pond, a woodland, and a prairie.
- Oakhurst Gardens - These are next to the Oakhurst house. They include a formal garden, sunken gardens, woodland gardens, and a courtyard garden.
- Wishing Well Garden - Designed in 2000, this garden shows themes of the Four Seasons. It also has Moon and Bird & Butterfly gardens.
- Rose Garden - A beautiful garden filled with roses.
- Backyard Garden - This used to be the Children's Gardens. It was updated in 2012.
- Colonnade Garden - Another lovely garden area.
- Orchard Courtyard - This garden changes with the seasons.
Contents
The Story of Minnetrista
In 1887, the Ball family moved their glass company. They moved it from Buffalo, New York to Muncie, Indiana. Their company, Ball Brothers Glass Company, became very famous. They made canning jars that many people used.
The Ball family bought most of the land along the White River in 1893. They wanted to help their community. They started projects to make life better for people in East Central Indiana. In the late 1960s, one of the Ball family homes burned down. This sad event gave the family a new idea. They wanted to create a place for everyone to keep learning.
The name "Minnetrista" means "a gathering place by the water." This was the name of the first home built by Frank Clayton Ball in 1894. That home burned down in 1967. The Ball family created the word "Minnetrista" from two parts. They used "mna," a Sioux word for "water." They combined it with the English word "tryst," which means a meeting place. The Minnetrista Cultural Center was built on the same spot in 1988.
Cool Collections to See
Minnetrista has a huge space behind the scenes. It's over 10,000 square feet! This area is used to keep old items and records safe. These items tell the story of East Central Indiana. There are more than 15,000 objects in the museum's collection. These include old photos, diaries, clothes, quilts, and furniture. You can also see products made in the area.
Some of these items are now online for everyone to see. You can look at postcards, photos, and over 2,300 book records. The topics include Muncie Pottery, the Ball Corporation, and the Ball family. You can also find information on businesses, clubs, gardening, and artwork. The library and archives are open to the public.
Fun for the Whole Family
Minnetrista has many events for families. Kids can play at the Imagination Playground. You can also grab Explorer Bags to create your own adventure. Step back in time and play in Betty's Doll House and Cabin. There are special events every Saturday too.
Minnetrista hosts four big events each year:
- Garden Fair in the spring.
- Faeries, Sprites, and Lights in July.
- Summer Stage Fest at different times in the summer.
- Enchanted Luminaria Walk on the first weekend of December.
Minnetrista also has a Farmers Market. About 45,000 people visit it every year! Throughout the year, you can join different workshops. These include glass-making and canning workshops.
Programs for Older Visitors
Minnetrista also has special programs for adults. These include Senior Free Admission Day. There's also Tea and Talk, where they discuss different topics. For example, they've talked about Women's Suffrage. They also have adult workshops and After Hours themed events.
In 2020, two rooms in the historic Lucius L. Ball home changed. They became The Bob Ross Experience. This brought new life to the space. It was once the famous painter's studio. He filmed "The Joy of Painting" there. Bob Ross filmed at the home from 1983 to 1988. At that time, WIPB, the local PBS station, owned the home. The Minnetrista exhibit opened on October 31, 2020. It is open Wednesday through Sunday.
Beautiful Nature Areas
Minnetrista has many acres of gardens. Some are formal, and some are natural. There's a large restored natural area. It has signs to help you learn about nature. You can find ponds and hiking trails there. Minnetrista is working on a special map of the whole campus. This map will show all the plants in detail. This project is a team effort. It involves Minnetrista's Horticulture Department, the Delaware County Office of Geographic Information, and Ball State University.
Related Links
- Ball brothers
- Ball Corporation
- Beneficence sculpted by Daniel Chester French
- Appeal to the Great Spirit sculpted by Cyrus Dallin
- Hemingray Glass Company
- Wheeler-Thanhauser Orchid Collection and Species Bank
- Cardinal Greenway
Images for kids
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Marker on the Minnetrista campus marking the site of where the Munsee clan resided.
See also
In Spanish: Centro Cultural Minnetrista para niños
