With the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon taking place last summer, which saw the release of the movies “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in theaters on the same day, the Waseca County History Center will have an exhibit based on one of the movies and its source material. And it is not the World War II film about the “father of the atomic bomb.”
Starting Feb. 27, the Waseca County Historical Society will host the exhibit “Barbie and Me,” on display through April 16. The exhibit coincides with the 65th anniversary of Barbie, which first debuted in 1959.
The exhibit is full of barbie memorabilia, including many dolls ranging from originals released in the 1960s to modern dolls released recently. The memorabilia and items in the exhibit were collected over the years by Jessica Barens, Shari Donelan and Justine Meyer.
The idea for the exhibit came about when Barens and her family were at the American Legion on New Year’s Eve, watching her father and Joan Mooney’s husband perform in their band. Mooney is the executive director at the history center.
“Joan just lovingly asked me what I got for Christmas, and I shared with her that my parents had gotten an American stewardess airline Barbie doll,” Barens said.
Mooney then mentioned that the museum really should do a Barbie show and exhibit. The doll, which is on display at the exhibit, is just one of many Barbie dolls Barens has in her collection.
It coincides with the 65th anniversary of Barbie and the recent popularity boost the doll received from the movie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, which came out last summer and proved a cultural sensation.
Amy Danielson, the exhibits, marketing and event coordinator for the History Center, agreed with Barbie as the theme for the next exhibit.
“I saw the movie, and I was like, ‘We have to do an exhibit on that, because there’s so many social issues in the movie,’” Danielson said. “I was very surprised, because I thought it was going to be more like a kids, toy, and Mattel commercial, and it wasn’t at all.”
For the signs in the exhibit explaining the displays and the historical background of them, Danielson noted that it will be hard writing the signs, since the company that created and owns Barbie, Mattel, took a long time to tackle any kind of social issues or topics. For example, it wasn’t until 1979 where Mattel launched the first black Barbie doll.
While Danielson thinks it’s important to mention that it took the company a while to diversify their dolls and address other concerns, she doesn’t want to slam Mattel, since she believes the company has learned from it.
“It’s more like we are all learning information to do better, and they did too,” Danielson said.
The display features items from many different Barbie eras, with Barens pointing out that, while Barbie is associated with the color pink, that wasn’t always the case.
“I remember growing up in the 1980s, and at that point, Barbie was totally associated with pink,” she said.
It wasn’t until 1975 that Mattel decided to glam up Barbie and start selling the dolls in pink boxes.
On top of all the dolls and Barbie memorabilia, such as trading cards and comic books, on display in the museum, Barens is showcasing two items that hold a special place in her heart. One is her mom Terrie’s thermos with the character Midge on it from when she was a little girl, and the other is a custom made dollhouse her grandfather Mark Barens built for her when she was young.
“I wanted the magical mansion that came out that year, all plastic of course with all the bells and whistles, and he made me the wooden version,” Jessica said.
Mark was an artist in Waseca who did the artwork on the ceiling of the Art Center and the mural behind the stage center of the museum. He made the Barbie house for Jessica and gave it to her as a Christmas gift in 1991. Since then, Terrie has continually restored the house, as it was well played with.
Justine Meyer’s collection includes original Ken and Midge dolls that were introduced in 1961 and 1963. Meyer is the owner of Pearl Button Primitives in Waseca. There are also a number of reissued dolls in her and Jessica’s displays.
“You have a lot of classic iconic Barbies that have been reissued in one form or another for different anniversaries,” Barens said.
On top of providing support to Barens, Meyer and Donelan on their displays, Danielson and Mooney also worked on a photo op booth that will be part of the exhibit. The booth will have various props people can pose with, as well as a Barbie-style dress that will be on a stand.
With the 65th anniversary of Barbie on Saturday, March 9, the Waseca County History Center will be open special hours to celebrate Barbie’s birthday. The museum will welcome guests from noon to 3 p.m. and will have a Barbie sheet cake to celebrate the occasion.
Barbie’s birthday is also the same weekend of the 96th Academy Awards (Oscars), which will take place on Sunday, March 10. The “Barbie” movie is nominated for eight awards, including Best Picture. It’s just another example of the famous doll’s enduring presence in American culture.
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