Antique Balance Scale

Food Production Laboratory Complex Mini Museum

Location: Family Life Center 312

Before we had electronic or slide scales, we had to add weights in grams, ounces, etc. to estimate weights of foods.

Children's Leather Shoes

Gordon and Sally Rudolph Collection

Location: Germans from Russia Heritage Collection

A pair of hand-made leather children's shoes worn by Sally and Jonathan Hochstatter. Sally and Johnathan were the children of German-Russian immigrants who were among the first families to settle in Dakota Territory.

Crazy Quilt

Emily Reynolds Historic Costume Collection

Location: 414 Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Family Life Center

This crazy quilt was made in 1899 by Louise Greenwood of McIntosh, Minnesota. Its silk and velvet blocks and seams are embellished with hand embroidery in a multitude of stitches and floral designs. It also incorporates panels of Ojibwe floral beadwork and silk souvenir ribbons.

First Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes

Faculty Senate Records

Location: NDSU Archives

This ledger is among the oldest surviving documents from North Dakota Agricultural College. It includes the first meeting minutes for the NDAC Faculty Senate.

First NDAC Diploma

Location: NDSU Archives

This was the first diploma granted by North Dakota Agricultural College to Robert Reed for completing the agriculture course of study.

German-Russian Batsa Brick

Tom Mueller Collection

Location: Germans from Russia Heritage Collection

When German-Russians settled in Dakota Territory, they used their experience from the Ukrainian steppes to adapt to the challenging prairie landscape. They employed vernacular architecture, constructing homes and barns using "batsa bricks," made from a mixture of clay, straw, and manure, which were shaped and sun-dried. This method reflected both the practical needs of the environment and their cultural traditions. Learn more about German-Russian history at this online exhibit.

Hemerocallis 'Bison Valentine'

NDSU Historic Daylily Display Garden

Location: Campus Garden

'Bison Valentine' is one in a series of daylilies with the Bison name specifically bred for North Dakota State University

Japanese Friendship Doll

Emily Reynolds Historic Costume Collection

Location: 414 Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Family Life Center

This doll, named Miss Okayama, and her accessories were a gift from the children of Okayama Prefecture, Japan, to the children of North Dakota as part of a doll exchange in 1927. In Okayama Prefecture, the doll's nickname is "Okayama Momoko" [Okayama's little peach]. Peach blossoms are Okayama's prefectural flower. Miss Okayama continues to serve as a goodwill ambassador between the United States and Japan.

Lawrence Welk Accordion

Lawrence Welk Collection

Location: NDSU Archives

Universal Accordion owned by Lawrence Welk. Welk, a native of Strasburg, N.D., hosted “The Lawrence Welk Show” on network television from 1955-82. The musician had a number one hit in 1961 with “Calcutta” and was inducted into the International Polka Music Hall of Fame. His black, white and silver accordion is one of the many items in the Lawrence Welk Collection at the NDSU Archives. The Welk family made the donation in 1993 following the musician’s death in 1992.

POW01

Dendrochronology

Cross section of the Powell oak. Bur oak growing along the Sheyenne River. First (earliest) ring was 1556; tree was cut down in 2006.

Princess Buttercup - Bearded Dragon

Reptile and Amphibian Collection

Location: Stevens Hall - 2nd Floor Lobby

Princess Buttercup came to us as a juvenile, being the only egg and hatchling that survived from his clutch. He had a rough start to his life, but has been doing well since his arrival at NDSU. Buttercup is small for his age (9 years old), but loves attention and is great at outreach events.

Roger L. Kroodsma Hybrid Bird Collection

NDSU Ornithology collection

Location: A. Glenn Hill Center

Dr. Roger L. Kroodsma was a zoology Ph.D. student back in the late 60s that collected a good number of hybrid birds across North Dakota and eastern Montana. His work with buntings and grosbeaks and how species boundaries are maintained through behavior and visual recognition has been published in the Auk, which is now the journal or Ornithology, a publication by the American Ornithological Society. He also collected a number of birds outside of his research area, making him the greatest contributor to the ornithology collection. His collection was housed at NDSU and now a piece of it is on display at Barry Hall.

Ruby - Ball Python

Reptile and Amphibian Collection

Location: Stevens Hall - 2nd Floor Lobby

Ruby is a 20-year old ball python who originally belonged to a student. When that student graduated and got a new job, Ruby could not go with him. The student donated her to the collection and she has been with us ever since and is a fan favorite at outreach events.

Russian Teapot and Samovar

Tea pot - Theresa Mack Wald Collection Samovar - Roxanne Henke Collection

Location: Germans from Russia Heritage Collection

The teapot was brought over to America from Neu Schoessle, Ukraine by German-Russian settler Katherina Deringer. She married John Mack and the couple settled in McHenry county. The brass samovar was originally purchased from a peddler in Wishek, ND, in the early 1900s as an anniversary gift. Water was heated in the outer chamber by hot coals that filled the inner chamber. A small teapot, containing very concentrated tea, sat on top. A small amount of tea would be poured into a cup, then the cup would be filled with hot water from the samovar.

The Threatened Western Prairie Fringed Orchid

Platanthera praeclara - Western Prairie Fringed Orchid

Location: North Dakota State University Herbarium

This species is a federally protected plant species under the Endangered Species Act and is considered threatened in the United States. North Dakota has one of the largest populations of this orchid in the southeastern portion of the State located on the Sheyenne Delta Ecoregion.

United States Steel Corp Education Poster

Mechanical Engineering

Location: Dolve Hall

In 1953 the United States Steel Corporation created posters illustrating how steel is made to help explain the process for educational purposes.

Woman's Riding Jacket

Emily Reynolds Historic Costume Collection

Location: 414 Katherine Kilbourne Burgum Family Life Center

This ca. 1890 woman's wool riding jacket was worn by Jessie Mason Webb in Bismarck, North Dakota. The jacket is embellished with hand-couched cording and has marabou feather trim at the collar and cuffs. The lower jacket is flared to fit over a bustle.