A Day at Minnesota Children’s Museum

Thank you Minnesota Children’s Museum for sponsoring this post.  Minnesota Children’s Museum provided us with tickets to explore and enjoy the museum.  All opinions are my own. 

Minnesota Children’s Museum is located in downtown Saint Paul and opens all year round.  It has three floors of fun for kids to explore and run around.  The boys are super excited to spend a day at the Minnesota Children’s Museum.  We have been there many times before and they always enjoy their time there.  Each time is always a different experience.  Be prepared to be here for at least 2-3 hours.  This would allow the kids ample time to explore all there is to offer and really be able to enjoy it.

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What I love about the Minnesota Children’s Museum is that it is not only a place for the boys to run around and have fun; it is also a place where they can learn and build life long skills such as creative thinking, confidence, critical thinking, communication, and self-control to name a few.

Today’s visit happened to be on a bright and sunny day.  You would think on a day like this that we would want to be outdoors.  Nope, not this family!  

Getting to the museum is an adventure in itself.  Driving to downtown Saint Paul, parking in a parking ramp and walking to the skyway to get to the museum. 

We let the boys lead us once we get parked by having them read the signs on where to go next.  We asked them to verbalize what floor we are on while I took a picture

Tip:  Always take a picture of what floor you park.  You are likely to forget after a long day of fun, like me 🙂

See related post: Pointe-à-Callière Museum: Birthplace of Montreal

They led us to the elevator to get us to the skyway level and onto the skyway.  Being able to see the streets and buildings from the skyway is awesome.  At least that is what the boys said.  

Once we arrived, they couldn’t contain themselves.  The first exhibit they went into was Imaginopolis as it was located on the first floor as you enter from the box office. 

Imaginopolis

Imaginoplis is an imaginative play space.  This is where the boys would crawl through the black hole to enter the galaxy.  They learned how to build onto the space satellite by using the tubes, hose, and panel available or help decode alien messages throughout the gallery.

The sitting area just outside of Imaginopolis is so beautiful and huge.  A perfect place for the families to just hang out.  

Too excited, they ran up the stairs to the second floor. Why take the elevators when you are here to run around?

Rube Goldberg Exhibit: The World of Hilarious Inventions

Rube Goldberg exhibit is a space for the boys to step into the role of the illustrator, storyteller, and inventor. 

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There are fun and crazy chain reaction contraptions that the boys were able to explore using everyday things. 

Here is Raiden pulling ropes to create a series of musical chain reaction. 

The Studio

The Studio is a space where kids can come in and make things with real tools and materials.   As we walked into the studio, we were greeted by staff/ volunteers with the biggest smiles and informing us of what to expect and directed us to gather our supplies. The theme was making machines. 

Here the boys are boys gathering their supplies and getting ready for some creativity. 

Here they are working hard.

And here they are with their finished product.  Their machines were planes with jet packs.  What else would my boys build 🙂

The Scramble

This is a place to be!  At least in the past when we came here. We spent most of the day here.  The boys always remember the 4-foot story climber, the giant spiral slide and 40-foot high catwalk.  This time, they spent only 30 minutes here.  Which is still a long time considering so many other things to do here.  

Be sure to bring socks!  The Scramble is for kids 5 years old and older but parents can use their discretion and judgment of their child’s capability.  There is also a toddler play area under the nearby staircase.

See related post: Top 10 Places To Visit in Minneapolis

Forces At Play

What is there to do here at Forces at Play?  If your kid loves water and bubbles, they would love it here.  The boys went crazy in this Wacky Car Wash and Bubbles Galore.  Scrubbing and washing the car.  There is no other place to be. 

There is also the ping pong ball launchers that the kids can play with launching ping pong balls using pipes, tubes and air blowers.

Our World

A vibrant pretend town where the kids can pretend to live and work in various areas of the town.

Here they are working at the post office sorting packages and routing them using the chutes and conveyor belts.

Here at the conveyor belts area, you can see the boss is talking to his employee about his day and how he is doing.  Is he praising or reprimanding him? 

Nearby is the fire station.  Climb into the fire truck and head out to save the day!

At the hardware store, put on your apron and tool belt and help out the customers as they come in for some items.

If you are hungry, stop by the food stand and order up a meal.  The cook was really good at recommending the perfect meal for me and was very personable.   He even suggested that I take a seat and he will bring me my meal when it was ready.  

After I ate my meal, we decided it was time for a bike ride around town.  What a fun ride that was?

Such a fun little pretend town for the boys to let loose and be creative!

Super Awesome Adventures

So much to do in this part of the museum where the boys can go off to some awesome adventures.  

There is a green screen rock climbing wall.  As they climb the walls, they looked at the screen in front of them to see where they are at.

The laser maze was probably their most favorite as twist and turn in the maze trying to not get “hit” with the laser beam.  The boys have the option to choose the level of easy, medium or hard to set their maze. 

Skating through space was pretty cool. No pictures taken 🙁

Creativity Jam

A place where the boys can be creative and do some critical thinking.  

Hey! What does this say here?  His response:  I know what that says.  We do this all the time at school. 🙂

There are two outdoor exhibits that we were fortunate to see in this beautiful sunny day, The Backyard and The Tip Top Terrace.

Tip Top Terrace

Located on the second level, you can take in the sights and sounds of downtown Saint Paul.

There is a sensory garden that the boys took part in smell and touch.  

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The Backyard

Located on the ground level, you can see people walking by and enjoying the beautiful day.  This has got to be one of the most beautiful outdoor settings I have ever seen for the kids to play around.

There are small and large animal art sculpture throughout the exhibit.  

Here is an oversized nest where you can go in and pretend to be a creature in there.  
How about that spider here?  

There is even a huge tire, tunnel and tree stump for the boys to climb.  Here they are doing what they do best.  Pretending to be American Ninjas and jump around.  

The Sprout 

We did not go into this exhibit. But for families with toddlers 3 years and under, this is the place to be.  I remember staying in here for hours with the boys a few years ago.  Always a treat with them having fun and not having to worry where they are.    

Gift shop

Of course, we cannot leave out the gift shop!  The boys always have to stop at the gift shop for some souvenirs.

Place To Eat

There is even an area to get food if you get hungry and need to replenish before the next round of fun.  They serve Starbucks here as well for my fellow coffee enthusiasts. There are also many options at nearby downtown restaurants if you choose to eat elsewhere.

What an awesome day we had at the Minnesota Children’s Museum. Please check it out and you will not regret it! Your kids will love it. The added perk is that the museum does offer free admissions on the third Sunday of each month thanks to the generosity of Target Corporations.

My Final Thoughts On Our Trip To The Minnesota Children’s Museum

So there you have it! A family fun-filled day. If you are looking for something that is indoor and educational, you will not want to miss out on this museum. Your kids will have the best of times with so many things to do. They will definitely tire themselves out but in a great and memorable way.

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• Pointe-à-Callière Museum: Birthplace of Montreal

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“This is part of the #KidCultureBlogger Link-Up hosted by Janaat mypiccoloitaliano.com the last Saturday of every month where bloggers share their passion for exposing kids to culture through travel, cooking, events, art, crafts, theatre, and other unplugged learning experiences.”