1983
- Ball Brothers Foundation undertakes an intensive look at the cultural needs of East Central Indiana.
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1987
- On March 14, Edmund F. Ball, Governor Robert Orr, Mayor James Carey, Ball family members and other community leaders break ground for Minnetrista Cultural Center.
- Minnetrista Cultural Center accepts the first donation for its museum collection.
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1988
- Minnetrista Cultural Center opens on December 10. Exhibits include Halcyon Years and White River Gallery.
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1989
- Minnetrista Associates holds its first meeting. Officers are Guy Callahan, president; Patricia Brunette, first vice president; Charles Shipman, second vice president; and Kathryn Scheerer, secretary.
- A contest is held to name the newsletter. The chosen name is Minnetrista Columns.
- The first volunteer banquet is held. 246 volunteers are recognized.
- Volunteers from the East Central Indiana Horticultural Society planted the perennial garden between Minnetrista Cultural Center and the Orchard Shop.
- The first art exhibit, Hill Sharp Retrospective, opens.
- The first Juried Artisan Fair (it was later called Arts Festival) took place in September.
- Minnetrista begins hosting the Ball Memorial Hospital Auxiliary's Festival of Trees and Lights.
- The first Minnetrista Annual Juried Art Show and Sale is held.
1990
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- Minnetrista hosts its first large traveling exhibit – Dinosaurs Alive!
- Minnetrista hosts the East Central Indiana Native American Cultures Symposium (later called Minnetrista Council for Great Lakes Native American Studies).
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1991
- Bob Ross demonstrates his painting technique popularized by his television program The Joy of Painting at the opening of the exhibit Bob Ross: The Joy Behind the Painting.
- The outdoor festival season opens with Fibs & Ribs.
- Native American Heritage Workshops are held in conjunction with the Native American Heritage Days celebration.
- Nationally known author and quilt authority Virginia Avery presents a program.
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1992
- The rose garden and gazebo are dedicated.
- The Center Shop introduces Vera Bradley handbags and accessories.
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1993
- 1993 is declared the Year of the Native American at Minnetrista. Two exhibits open – Platforms to the Stars: Mounds of the Adena and Hopewell and People of the Turtle.
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1994
- Minnetrista Boulevard is rebuilt in anticipation of the opening of Oakhurst Gardens.
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1995
- Oakhurst Gardens opens on May 27.
- Minnetrista hosts the first RiverFest and country concert.
- Oakhurst Gardens hosts the first Midsummer Night's Luminaria Walk and the first Enchanted Gardens Luminaria Walk
- The Cantina is enclosed and remodeled.
- President and CEO Nick Clark leaves Minnetrista to direct the Museums at Prophetstown. Vice President Owen Glendening becomes President and CEO.
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1996
- Discovery Cabin opens at Oakhurst Gardens
- School Columns premiers.
- Minnetrista host the blockbuster exhibit Liquid Vision: Lasers, Holograms and Virtual Reality.
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1997
- The lobby carpet is removed and staff, volunteers, and board members sign the floor.
- Garden Fair premiers at Oakhurst Gardens.
- Minnetrista hosts the Indiana Blues Festival.
- Edmund F. Ball donates 83 maps to Minnetrista. The maps date from the 1700s and all show Indiana and the Midwest in various stages of development.
- Art from Minnetrista's collection is exhibited at the Indiana Governor's residence.
- Minnetrista becomes a member of the Ball State University Professional Development School Network.
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1998
- Minnetrista Cultural Center celebrates its 10th anniversary.
- Dinosaurs return to Minnetrista with the exhibit Tearing Up the Town: Dimanation's Dinosaurs.
- Ball Corporation donates its glass museum to Minnetrista when headquarters leave Muncie.
- Kids Summer Spectrum premiers.
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1999
- Work on the Nature Area begins.
- The Children's Garden opens at Oakhurst.
- The Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance begins its summer series at Minnetrista presenting Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
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2000
- Minnetrista's campus is recognized by the Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects as a national landmark for outstanding landscape architecture.
- The statue Passing of the Buffalo finds a temporary home in Minnetrista Cultural Center's lobby.
- Orchard Shop opens year-around.
- Farmers Market premiers.
- The exhibit The Spirit of Oakhurst opens.
- Edmund F. Ball dies on September 30.
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2001
- The Wishing Well Garden opens.
- The Humpback Barn Poetry Festival moves to Minnetrista.
- Minnetrista becomes a content provider in the Vision Athena Distance Learning Network.
- Oakhurst Gardens is featured in the publications Garden Design and artsindiana.
- Ball State University students enrolled in a Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry class research, design and build the exhibit finding indiana: our search for place which later is exhibited at the Indiana Statehouse.
- Our Land, Our Souls, Our Freedom, an exhibit that tells the little known story of African American pioneers who settled in East Central Indiana debuts at Minnetrista.
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2002
- Minnetrista's volunteer program includes 350 active volunteers who give a total of 12,980 hours, the equivalent of 6.5 full-time employees.
- The newly formed Board of Trustees has its first meeting in April. In June, the trustees review and approve new statements of Minnetrista's values, vision, and mission.
- A three-year strategic plan is completed and approved by the Board of Trustees in December.
- The first leg of the White River Greenway is built connecting Minnetrista's campus east along McCulloch Boulevard to Cardinal Greenway.
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2003
- The exhibit Our Land, Our Souls, Our Freedom travels to the Indiana State Museum and to the Marion Public Library & Museum.
- The first program guide is printed and distributed to more than 100,000 people.
- Minnetrista's first-ever annual fund raises exceeds it goal.
- Catalyst, a sculpture to be installed on the circle in front of Minnetrista Cultural Center, is donated by Virginia B. Ball.
- Minnetrista participates in the Museum Assessment Program/Collections.
- Virginia B. Ball dies on December 1.
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2004
- Rebecca Holmquist is hired as Vice President and Director of Programs.
- Minnetrista participates in the Museum Assessment Program/Institutional.
- President and CEO Owen Glendening resigns. Karen Vincent is appointed Interim President and CEO.
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2005
- New President and CEO Betty Brewer begins work on July 18.
- A staff committee works on the first ever institutional emergency preparedness plan. Ball State University students conduct a safety and security audit for Minnetrista. The audit is funded by a Lilly Foundation grant.
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2006
- The Children's Garden is revamped and updated. Many new kid-friendly features are added.
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