(This is a sponsored post. Please see full disclosure below.)

Today the Minnesota Children’s Museum is celebrating it’s Grand Opening—or grand re-opening, as the case may be. We had the opportunity to get a sneak peek of the newly re-imagined Children’s Museum last Friday and were thrilled by how different and awesome it is!

I went with my daughter, a fellow STMA-area mom friend, and her two kids aged 7 and 5. We were expecting a few new exhibits and some add-ons, but what we found instead was a completely new museum. Most of the existing exhibits had been replaced by brand new ones, and the few things that were brought back were in different locations and with a new look.

The museum’s emphasis is really on discovery and learning through play, which they are celebrating through the #PlayMoreMN campaign. You’ll still find all the same types of hands-on exploration activities that your kids loved before, but the newest additions encourage kids to engage their whole bodies in play. For example, The Scramble is a 4-story climbing tower with cargo nets and a spiral slide. In the “Super Awesome Adventures” section, kids can try out carpet skating, a laser maze, and the green-screen climbing wall. Your littlest kids can explore climbing structures of their own in the Sprouts room, created for ages 3 and under.

We also found lots of opportunities for our kids to practice creativity: Building blocks, a sticker wall, and a fully-stocked maker space where kids can try out paper crafting, electrical circuitry, sewing machines, bead making, and more! I was in awe of the machines that let kids try their hand at making stop-motion animation films. If there were no kids around, I could’ve played with that for hours myself! 😀

Our girls (7 and 3) most enjoyed the green screen climbing wall, the DIY face painting station, and the car wash. Our 5-year-old boy loved The Scramble, and we had to tear him away from the building blocks more than once. 🙂

ALL of our kids loved playing in “Our World,” which is set up like a real little town with a hardware store, post office, fire station, grocery store, and restaurant. I loved the little firefighter outfits and hose, and the kids played for SO long in the post office area, sending boxes up the conveyor belt and down the chute.

In addition to the revamped exhibit space, the museum also added more bathrooms, an extra elevator (thank you!), a skyway-level entrance (perfect for winter!), and a restaurant that serves sandwiches, salads, and pizza, plus tea and coffee drinks. (Because Heaven knows us moms need our caffeine!) I was also very impressed by the eating and nursing areas within the Sprouts section, perfect for helping parents meet the needs of those hungry babies and toddlers.

Recommended age range:
The Minnesota Children’s Museum is best suited for kids ages 1–10, and there are opportunities for both the oldest and youngest kids in every exhibit. (Check out the Tot Spots located within many of the exhibits. These areas are designed specifically for the little ones.)

Here are a few tips for a great visit:
1. Bring socks so your kids can play in The Scramble.
2. Kids might get wet or even messy. Plan accordingly.
3. If you park in the World Trade Center ramp across the street, the box office will take $2 off when you check in there. (You must bring your parking stub with you to the desk!)
4. If you don’t want to pay for lunch at the cafe, you are free to bring your own. Don’t forget the drinks!

Museum Website / Admission Prices / Hours

The Minnesota Children’s Museum has graciously given us a Family Pack of 4 Passes to give away to one lucky STMA Mom reader! Click here to enter

Disclosure: Thank you to the Minnesota Children’s Museum for providing us with four sneak-peek passes for our family as well as the additional passes for our contest. All opinions in this post are my own.

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