Explore MN's Newspaper History at the State Fair

Outside the 4H Building at the Minnesota State Fair lies a unique exhibit that transports you back to the 1930s-era heyday of print journalism.

The Minnesota Newspaper Museum is a living history glimpse into a working newspaper office from the past.

Operated by the Minnesota Newspaper Foundation, the museum recreates a small-town newspaper production floor. Visitors can learn all about how newspapers were printed before digital took over.

Printing Press at the Minnesota State FairgroundsPhoto byDayTripper

Vintage Equipment on Display

The museum contains vintage equipment, all currently being used to create everything from newsprint to posters and notebooks.

See cabinets of metal type arranged into words and headlines letter-by-letter.

Watch demonstrations of linotype machines rapidly typing up molten lead lines of text.

In the back, find a centuries-old flatbed press for printing the paper's pages.

There's also a paper cutter for manually slicing newspaper print rolls, relics of journalism's mechanical age.

Old-Time Printing Process

Throughout the day, museum staff and volunteers perform the labor-intensive process of producing a newspaper the old-fashioned way.

Newspaper PrintingPhoto byDayTripper

Hands-On Activities

Depending on the production, Kids can get their names set in type to take home.

They can also learn how to construct a newspaper hat folded by hand from printed sheets.

Fresh off the Press

They give away hot-off-the-press notepads, journals, and posters.

The poster every year is always a post of the First Amendment. They have them in two different sizes this year, with different typesets and colors.

1st Amendment PosterPhoto byDayTripper

This one-of-a-kind museum brings vintage newspaper operations to life. Stop by daily from 9 am to 8pm (6pm Labor Day) during the fair for a journey into Minnesota's journalistic history.