Plan Your Play
There’s something fun for everyone at Minnesota Children’s Museum. Map out your visit by age, interest and your family’s needs.
Ages 3 & Under
Be sure to spend time in Sprouts, which is perfect for infants and toddlers. Also, look for toddler-friendly Tot Spots in various exhibits.
Floor 1
Forces at Play | 3M Gallery
Car wash (tot-sized rain coats available)
Tubes, ramps and balls
The Scramble
Tot Spot entrance next to the stairs
Climbing platforms and other safe challenges
Adventurous toddlers and preschoolers may enjoy the smaller slide in the main area of The Scramble
Shipwreck Adventures
Wooden ramp, over-sized shoreline grass, and Tot Spot with shape sorter, sensory activities and bubble tube.
The Backyard (Open Seasonally)
Giant ant, tire sculpture, kid-sized bird nest, thicket hideaway
Floor 2
Sprouts
Water tables, netted bridge, slide, crawling mats, light tables, reading nook
Rest area with sofa, sink and microwave
Comfort room
Imaginopolis (Now featuring: Nature Remix)
Large, out-of-scale animals, plants and insects.
Quirky but inspiring environment for children to create their own world and tell their own stories.
Floor 4
Our World | Best Buy Gallery
Tot Spot inside to your right with mirrors and puppets
The Studio | Target Gallery
Curiosity cabinet on your left
Activity tables
Ages 4 to 8
Almost everything in the museum appeals to this age group.
Note that Sprouts on Floor 2 is for children 3 and under. Older siblings welcomed with supervision.
Also, The Scramble on Floor 1 is recommended for children 5 and up (but you be the judge of a child’s capabilities).
Ages 9 & Up
Older kids have a blast, too! They’ll find things to do in every gallery (note that Sprouts is designed for children 3 and under). Here are some places to get started:
Floor 1
The Scramble
Two climbing towers, spiral slide and netted catwalk
Enter and exit on Floor 1
No shoes allowed; socks required
Shipwreck Adventures
Giant ship hull, dark coves and cranes to move boxes
Green screen climbing wall and laser maze
Forces at Play | 3M Gallery
Engineer your own ping pong ball launchers and scrub a car in the car wash
Floor 2
Creativity Jam | Target Gallery
Now featuring: The Play Lounge. Play isn’t just for kids… it’s for adults, too! Learn about the benefits of play for all ages while playing a round of extreme ping pong (complete with costumes!). Then test your trivia knowledge before grabbing a seat and relaxing with mindful games and activities
Floor 4
The Studio | Target Gallery
Tinker, make and create with real tools and authentic materials
Quieter Times
Please note that weekend mornings, school breaks, school release days, Securian Financial Free First Sundays and holidays can be popular times to visit. Days with rain, cold or excessive heat can be popular.
Physical Play
Kids burn off lots of energy in these experiences:
Floor 1
The Scramble
Two climbing towers, spiral slide and netted catwalk
Enter and exit on Floor 1
Shipwreck Adventures
Green screen climbing wall and laser maze
Floor 2
Sprouts
This gallery is designed for children ages 3 and under. Climb stairs, venture over a bridge and go down a slide in the play structure.
Pretend Play
Take on roles and shape your own stories.
Floor 1
Shipwreck Adventures
Use your imagination to dive deep into Lake Superior and explore a shipwreck
Floor 2
Imaginopolis (Now featuring: Nature Remix)
Large, out-of-scale animals, plants and insects.
Quirky but inspiring environment for children to create their own world and tell their own stories.
Sprouts | Target Gallery
Cozy reading nook toward the front of the exhibit
For children ages 3 and under
Floor 4
Our World | Best Buy Gallery
Fire station, post office, food stand, hardware store and farmers market
Arts & Tinkering
Floor 1
Forces at Play | 3M Gallery
Create contraptions with ramps, tubes and balls
Floor 4
The Studio | Target Gallery
Tinker, make and create with real tools and authentic materials
Tip Top Terrace | Ecolab Gallery (Open Seasonally)
Water expressions, bike wheel sculpture, musical sculpture
Water Play
Floor 1
Forces at Play | 3M Gallery
Wacky car wash (rain coats available)
Floor 2
Sprouts
Water tables toward the back of the gallery
For children ages 3 and under
Quieter Spaces
When you’re looking for a slower pace, these spaces often provide a place to take it easy.
Floor 1
The Backyard (Open Seasonally)
Whimsical animal sculptures, benches and planters
Floor 2
Sprouts
Reading nook
Rest area with sofa, microwave and sink
For children ages 3 and under
Floor 4
The Studio | Target Gallery
Activity tables and various materials.
Tip Top Terrace | Ecolab Gallery (Open Seasonally)
Water expressions, bike wheel sculpture, music sculpture, sensory garden
Accessibility
We want to ensure all families feel welcome at Minnesota Children’s Museum and we strive to make the museum accessible and safe for all members of our community. We understand that, sometimes, extra support can help kids fully participate. To make that happen, we’ve developed resources to help foster full inclusion at the museum. Accessibility at the museum
Special Exhibits
May 20 – Sept. 3, 2023
Hands-on and digital experiences focus on the five emotions featured in the film: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear. Visitors learn to recognize emotions and explore ways that we express and manage our own emotions.
September 2023 – January 2024
Get ready to race, roll and have a ball playing with energy and motion in Ball-o-rama! Experiment with velocity, gravity and acceleration through interactive stations using balls and ramps to demonstrate speed, distance and the laws of physics.