Parent Resources
Power of Play BlogThere’s Still Time to Take Your Summer to the Max
It’s already August, can you believe it? Time flies and the school year will be here before you know it.
We hope you’ve been enjoying every ounce of fun this Minnesota summer has to offer. If you haven’t made a trip to Minnesota Children’s Museum yet, you’ll want to get here before our special summer experiences are gone.
Our “Summer to the Max” exhibits are packed with fun and they all empower our young visitors to exercise their creativity and critical thinking skills. Building, designing, engineering and imagining — it’s all on tap here in downtown St. Paul.
We’ve got three floors to explore, including a giant climber, laser maze, car wash, pretend town, maker studio and two outdoor spaces. Plus, there’s an entire gallery perfectly designed for toddlers and pre-schoolers.
And you know what’s great? All 11 exhibits are included in the price of admission.
If you are looking to live your summer to the fullest, visit Minnesota Children’s Museum soon.
SUMMER TO THE MAX EXHIBITS
Cosmic Junkyard
A space themed area that brings your child to the reaches of their imagination. Crawl through a black hole and they will become an astronaut (or an alien!) that takes control of a spaceship. They can build upon a satellite using tubes, hoses and panels. There are plenty of alien messages that can be decoded throughout the gallery. The ambient lighting and the spaceship like structures really immerse your child into an imaginative, out-of-this-world experience! Learn more.
Rube Goldberg: The World of Hilarious Invention!
This is one you definitely don’t want to miss. Rube Goldberg contraptions are always a joy to watch. The wacky maneuvers and cartoonish build of the contraptions in this exhibit will bring out joy in you and your child! Have your child set the contraption up by putting the ramps and balls in place and see the wacky chain reaction that ensues! There are also musical ropes to pull that can create a musical chain reaction and an area to create our own silly cartoons. Learn more.
Making Machines
Does your child have a knack for working with their hands and creating mini machines? Find out with this exhibit, located in The Studio! Your child gets a chance to use real tools, like pliers, hot glue guns, and wire cutters. With a variety of materials at their disposal, there are plenty of possibilities for setting goals and problem solving their way towards a simple machine. Learn more.
Creativity Jam
This exhibit is all about collaboration and reflection. From making optical illusions with shapes and mirrors to learning how to make an origami fortune teller to making a contribution to the Courage wall, this exhibit offers plenty of opportunities to learn creative thinking and instill confidence in your child. Learn more.
The Landing
This exhibit contains fun engineering and design challenges. You will be given design briefs and able to create structures using struts, joining plates and pins. There is a chalk board where ideas can be sketched and data can be recorded. There are also KEVA planks to collaboratively create structures from the ground up.
CHECK OUT OUR CLASSIC EXHIBITS TOO!
These exhibits are exclusive for the summer and will be gone by the beginning of September. When you come to visit these Summer to the Max exhibits, don’t forget about our classic exhibits that we have throughout the year, such as The Scramble, Our World, Forces at Play, and others! You can also enjoy the summer sun at the Tip Terrace and The Backyard!
Stay Informed
St. Paul, MN 55102