U Card required to access all libraries

A U Card is required for access to all University of Minnesota libraries beginning Jan. 20. Please carry your U Card at all times for entry and re-entry. To see this exhibit, please contact jfbell@umn.edu for further information.

About the exhibit

Exploration means more than venturing into previously unknown territory. It also means connecting with the people who live in those places. Maps and other wayfinding tools document those connections and bring attention to places where connections are yet to be made.

This exhibition surveys the role cartography has played in connecting people to one another from the beginning of recorded history to today. We follow people on the move through migration, trade, conquest, exploration, enslavement, diplomacy, and friendship. Our global connections are not new, but proceed from a long and often messy history.

Exhibit details

What: Mapping Global Connections: The First 5,000 Years
Where: Elmer L. Andersen Library, James Ford Bell Gallery, located in the Maxine Wallin Special Collections Research Center (ground floor) | Parking & directions
When: March 2 through May 29, 2026 (weekdays only)
Hours and access: Elmer L. Andersen Library hours | A U Card is required for access to all University of Minnesota libraries beginning Jan. 20. Please carry your U Card at all times for entry and re-entry. To see this exhibit, please contact jfbell@umn.edu for further information.

Curated by the James Ford Bell Library
Exhibit design and installation by Darren Terpstra, Archives and Special Collections Exhibit Design and Project Specialist