The Bakken in Minneapolis, founded in 1975 by inventor Earl Bakken, grew from a collecting effort begun in 1969 around his interest in electricity, innovation, and medicine. It brings together science, technology, medicine, and the humanities, with strong emphasis on the history of electricity and its medical uses. Its collections include about 11,000 written works and around 2,000 scientific instruments, including materials linked to Benjamin Franklin, Luigi Galvani, Alessandro Volta, and Emil Heinrich Du Bois-Reymond. Housed since 1976 in the historic West Winds residence, it also features exhibits inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and has expanded through major renovations and collection facilities.