Photo by Deb Gau Vickie Abel, coordinator of accessibility services at Southwest Minnesota State University, talks about the mobile museum exhibit now on display at the university

MARSHALL — People with developmental disabilities are a part of Minnesota’s history — but their story has often been overlooked.

“It’s a topic that goes unspoken for a lot of people,” said Vickie Abel, coordinator of accessibility services at Southwest Minnesota State University.

A traveling exhibit at the university campus this month is trying to change that. “Inclusion,” a mobile museum display, examines the journey of Minnesotans with developmental disabilities from 1900 to the present. The exhibit will be at SMSU through Sept. 23, outside the SMSU Library in the Bellows Academic building.

The mobile museum exhibit was created in 2022 by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, a federally funded group appointed by the governor. Of the group’s 25 members, 60% are individuals with developmental disabilities or family members.

The traveling exhibit was one way to help teach the public about the history of disability in Minnesota, the Council on Developmental Disabilities said.

Last year, Advance Opportunities and other Marshall groups had been approached about having the mobile museum come to Marshall, Abel said. Abel said she and Campus Diversity Officer Dr. Erin Kline were excited for the opportunity to host the exhibit.

“We just grabbed ahold of it,” Abel said. The mobile museum’s mission aligned well with efforts to support diversity and inclusion at the university, she said.

The mobile museum exhibit features photos and displays focusing on Minnesotans with developmental disabilities from the early 1900s to today.

The exhibit also talks about the changing perceptions and treatment of people with disabilities.

In the 1900s, parents were encouraged to institutionalize children with disabilities. Some of the images in the exhibit show poor living conditions that people with disabilities experienced in institutions, as well as the barriers to equality they faced. People with developmental disabilities, their families, the courts and the Legislature all had roles in making changes, the exhibit explains.

Minnesota is one of 16 U.S. states that have closed large state institutions for people with developmental disabilities. The last resident with developmental disabilities left the state institution system in 2000.

“That’s not that long ago,” Abel said.

The fight for more independence and equality is not over, either. “Inclusion” also highlights ongoing efforts to improve inclusion and employment for people with disabilities.

Visitors can go more in-depth with the exhibit, with the help of QR codes on some of the poster panels. By scanning the codes with a cell phone, visitors can access videos and additional stories and information.

Abel said organizers hope that both SMSU students and the general public will be able to visit the exhibit displays. “Inclusion” is free, and it will be open during SMSU’s regular building hours through Sept. 23.

“We just hope that people will have the opportunity to come through,” Abel said.