ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota History Center, in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, will open a new exhibit called “Girlhood: it’s complicated” on Saturday. 

The exhibit highlights different eras of growing up in America as a girl, but there is one section solely dedicated to women’s and girl’s basketball in Minnesota.

“When you walk around this exhibit you will see when we open doors, girls walk through,” said Dorothy McIntyre, who helped curate some of the artifacts in the women’s basketball display.

McIntyre’s been an advocate for women’s sports most of her life. First as a teacher, who would bus her female students to games herself so they had the opportunity to compete against other schools, and then she became the first woman to be employed by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). This is where she championed Title IX in the state, which lead to the first girls basketball state championship in 1976, where St. Paul Central won the first title.

“The anthem plays, the flag goes up, the Met Center has tons of people there watching, and we’re giving out the first state medals ever to girls’ state basketball,” said McIntyre.

Museum manager, Annie Johnson, said the timing to highlight women’s basketball couldn’t be more perfect.

“As we were looking at our collections, oral history, what’s been part of popular culture and in the news, we really found that we had such great resources on women’s and girl’s basketball,” said Johnson.

One of the displays shows the jersey of Janet Karvonen, a super star basketball player in the late 1970s from New York Mills in northern Minnesota. Karvonen broke multiple state records in her day, and is in the Minnesota High School Sports Hall of Fame.

“She opened the door for Caitlin Clark to do what she’s doing. Wherever Janet was, there were little girls around her wanting autographs,” said McIntyre.

McIntyre hopes that when people walk through this exhibit they understand who made basketball what it is today, and how they can be part of its future.

“I’m hoping there will be waves of respect and more interest in today’s athletes because they are standing on the shoulders of all of these women,” said McIntyre.

“Girlhood: it’s complicated” exhibit runs through June 2025.

WCCO is a sponsoring partner of this exhibit.

Marielle Mohs

Marielle Mohs is thrilled to be telling stories in her home state of Minnesota. She grew up in Eden Prairie and South Minneapolis.