221 Past Events at Minnetrista Museum & Gardens

FREE Community Event                

Kick off the holiday season with family and friends! Enjoy sweet treats, winter crafts, carriage rides, and holiday music in celebration of the season. Embrace the sounds and spirit of the holidays at this free community event! This is event is presented by: Cooper Consulting ; Supported also by: Magna Powertrain and Indiana Michigan Power and Unified Group. Media partner: The Star Press

FREE Community Event                

Kick off the holiday season with family and friends! Enjoy sweet treats, winter crafts, carriage rides, and holiday music in celebration of the season. Embrace the sounds and spirit of the holidays at this free community event! This is event is presented by: Cooper Consulting ; Supported also by: Magna Powertrain and Indiana Michigan Power and Unified Group. Media partner: The Star Press

FREE Community Event

Join Minnetrista, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Team, and Ball State University's Department of Theatre & Dance's Ethnic Theatre Alliance for a day full of activities, history, and culture at the Kick-Off to Black History Month Celebration at Minnetrista!

Cost: $5; members discounts apply

Minnetrista Theatre Preserves presents ‘In My Hands, In My Heart’. The performance tells the story of two young men working at the Ball Canning Jar Factory in 1928.  Each of these young men make a terrifying discovery as they clean the factory floor: a jar molded with the crest of the Ku Klux Klan. Through evocative storytelling the show outlines the response to their discovery, exploring the historical perspectives and challenges of the time, as well as questions of personal integrity. The performance demonstrates the power of considering the experience of those whose lives differ from our own.

Cost: $15; member discounts apply

Pre-register by November 14 to receive a complimentary sample

Sit back, relax, and enjoy an evening of fun with your friends at After Hours at Minnetrista! Enjoy cocktails, appetizers by Minnetrista Catering, live entertainment, and more. Those who preregister will get a ticket for a free sample cocktail. The evening will also include a peak behind the curtain into the Minnetrista Heritage Collection!

A 21-and-older event. In partnership with The Heorot Pub.       

Indiana Humanities has focused its award-winning Next Indiana Campfires film program on the White River watershed and the larger question of how Hoosiers relate to water and to each other across watersheds. Join us for a special screening of these three new short documentaries, followed by conversations with the Hoosier filmmakers.

Cost: $35; member discounts apply

Registration deadline: February 21

Try something new with this workshop exploring creative connections between glasswork and copper! By kiln firing glass onto copper, you can create custom jewelry pieces to wear or give as gifts. Come together with friends and Minnetrista experts to learn a new skill and leave with treasured piece of art.

Registration deadline: March 1

Intrigue abounds at Minnetrista’s first ever Murder Mystery Dinner Party. Upon stepping into the mysterious party thrown by the wealthy industrialist botanist, Andrew Cornhusk, attendees will enjoy a night filled with imaginative play, plot twists, and a plenty of delicious food. As you seek to solve the central crime, you’ll be surrounded by plenty of glitz, glamour, and good humor!  This event is presented in conjunction with Wicked Plants: The Exhibit, so be prepared to encounter some diabolical botanicals during the evenings charades!

March 25–26; 9 a.m.–3p.m.

Cost: $60 per child; member discounts apply

Registration deadline: March 22

Hey parents! It’s spring break in Indiana, and at Minnetrista, kids will explore how spring is celebrated all over the world during two days of outdoor fun. Come play, do some crafting, and join the adventure that will encourage the appreciation of beauty, creativity, and teamwork. For children in grades K–3. Campers will need to bring their own lunch every day.

FREE Community Day

Who’s ready for an adventure? Bring your family and friends for a day full of free adventures together at Minnetrista! There will be lawn games outside Betty’s Cabin; activities with Let There Be Art and Partners in Literacy in the main building; and exciting places to explore all around campus with the seasonal Explorer Bags. Sponsored by Primetrust

March 28–29; 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Cost: $60 per child; member discounts apply

Registration deadline: March 26

Hey parents! It’s spring break in Indiana, and at Minnetrista, kids will explore their creative side while learning about the earth and sciences during two days of outdoor fun. There will be fun and educational crafts, games, and activities that encourage imagination, creativity, and science experiments within nature. For children in grades K–3. Campers will need to bring their own lunch every day.

March 28–29; 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Cost: $60 per child; member discounts apply

Registration deadline: March 26

Hey parents! It’s spring break in Indiana, and at Minnetrista, kids will explore their creative side while learning about the earth and sciences during two days of outdoor fun. There will be fun and educational crafts, games, and activities that encourage imagination, creativity, and science experiments within nature. For children in grades K–3. Campers will need to bring their own lunch every day.

April 4;  Member reception from 6–7 p.m.; Presentation from 7–8 p.m.

FREE Community Event           

Amy Stewart is the author of “Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and other Botanical Atrocities.” This best-selling book has been transformed into a fun-filled, family-friendly traveling exhibit that gives visitors a safe, hands-on experience with some of the world’s most diabolical botanicals. Wicked Plants: The Exhibit is being housed at Minnetrista until May 19. Come listen to Amy discuss her book and the exhibit on April 4. Amy’s book will be available for sale at the event.

Wicked Plants: The Exhibit is funded by The North Carolina Arboretum Society and the Creel-Harison Foundation and based on the New York Times best-selling book, “Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities,” by Author Amy Stewart, Algonquin Press, New York, N.Y. © 2009

Registration deadline: April 3

Experience the heat and glow of the Marilyn K. Glick Center for Glass at Ball State when you create Easter eggs this spring! Take advantage of an opportunity to make your own glass decorations for your home.

Join the Minnetrista Horticulture team for a special volunteer day to help maintain and further our lively gardens! Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn and grow in their knowledge of the garden cultivation alongside helpful professionals. Whether cleaning and preparing soil for future seeds or digging and planting, there’s always plenty of work to be done!

Glass working has deep roots in East Central Indiana artisan culture. Join us for Hors d’oeuvres  and tea as we discuss the extensive glass work that has gone into the restoration of our very own Catalyst Sculpture.

After renovations, a reimagined experience is coming to Minnetrista! The Oakhurst Experience tells the story of the George and Frances Ball family through the eyes of their daughter, Betty. With an emphasis on literacy, canning, gardens, and family, visitors will explore a historical home full of interactive experiences. The Grand Opening on April 13 will provide the community its first look into what is sure to be a gathering place for families for years to come.

Pre-register by April 18 to receive a complimentary sample

Presented in conjunction with Wicked Plants: The Exhibit, Whiskeyed Plants brings you face to face with some of the most dangerous plants while sipping on delicious bourbon. Come together with friends to enjoy hand-crafted cocktails and solve a mystery in the process. Wicket Plants: The Exhibit leads visitors through a ramshackled Victorian-era home, uncovering secrets and solving a central mystery while learning about the history, science, and legend of various medicinal and poisonous plant life.

This event supported by: Oakley Brother’s Distillery in Anderson       

Things are getting egg-citing at Minnetrista, and you’re invited to a Glass Easter Egg Hunt in Oakhurst Gardens.  Grab your family and get ready to search the garden for your own piece of glass art to take home and be sure to look for a special visit from the candy-giving Easter Bunny. Don’t want to search the gardens? Come inside for the Annual Spring Glass Sale in partnership with Ball State University Glass Alliance.

King Gerg’s kingdom is in shambles. In an effort to do something about it, he has sent out three servants to seek stories of true greatness. Today is the day of their return and the day of King Gerg’s retirement.  Will the servant’s stories save the kingdom? Will King Gerg do something truly great before he retires?  And who will be the next king?