DETROIT LAKES — Though the Becker County Museum's science floor was supposed to open to the public this Wednesday, March 1, winter storms postponed that historic event by 24 hours.
The museum's science floor and gift shop are now open every Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. According to Becky Mitchell, the museum's executive director, they may expand those hours in the future, possibly to include Sunday afternoons and at least one evening per week.
Some areas of the new, 30,000-square-foot facility remain closed, however, as construction on the ground floor is ongoing. A second opening celebration will be held "sometime in May," Mitchell said, when the museum is fully operational.
The museum's main history exhibit hall will be open, however, for the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce's 2023 Economic Development Summit on March 17. The summit, which runs from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., will include presentations from new businesses and local leaders, the latest economic news from around the lakes area, and a keynote address from Anthony Schaffhauser, northwest regional analyst with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.
"We'll be doing tours," Mitchell said, starting at 11 a.m., and she is also one of the scheduled speakers.
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Tickets for the summit are $25 each, and may be purchased at the Chamber offices at 700 Summit Ave., or online via its website at visitdetroitlakes.com .
The museum also has several conference rooms available for rent, and the community has already begun taking advantage: The Detroit Lakes Noon Rotary Club held its regular meeting there on Thursday, March 2, and Essentia Health St. Mary's of Detroit Lakes hosted a Noojimo' Indigenous Culture and Wellbeing Workshop there in late February.
The science floor's official grand opening on Feb. 17 drew more than 200 area residents , though the Polar Fest Boys Night Out at the museum on Feb. 10 was its first public event.
