Things to do in the Twin Cities with Kids

This weekend we are exploring Minneapolis with my eleven and twelve year old brothers. It’s been a weekend of good food and a lot of the “Greatest Showman” soundtrack (“A Million Dreams” is permanently stuck in my head). Here is what we are doing:

Science Museum of Minnesota Calvin says that his favorite thing was the tornado simulator, but Charlie argues that the race car simulator is better. This museum is perfect for all ages. They even have “adults only” nights on certain weekends throughout the year. Admission is around $18 for adults and $13 for kids. We went on Friday night, when admission is $6 for students.

Mall of America This one is obvious– shopping, aquarium, go-karts, amusement park rides. The mall also has events nearly every weekend. This weekend we are going to the Chinese New Year festival there, so we will be checking out the art, calligraphy, food, and music from China.

Parks In the wintertime, there are free ice skating rinks at many of the parks in Minneapolis, and most of them offer free skate rentals too. My favorite place to skate is either Logan Park in NE or Centennial Lakes in one of the suburbs (pictured above). In the summer, there many parks that host free movies and live music every night of the summer. You can check out the whole list by going to the Park & Rec department’s website.

Can Can Wonderland This hidden gem has an 18-hole mini golf set designed by artists around the world. Can Can also has rows of old arcade games, a stage, cereal milk shakes, state fair food, and a full bar. The stage has live music several nights per week, and they even have a talent show and karaoke on certain nights. The only caveat is that after 9pm is turns to only 21+. Mini golf = $12 per person.

The Cafe Meow There is now a cat cafe in Minneapolis that opened yesterday. This is definitely something that we will be visiting soon.

Downtown The boys were excited to drive around the Vikings stadium and see Target stadium. Last time they visited we also parked near by the Guthrie Theatre and took their elevators up to the “yellow room” on the 9th floor. The Guthrie also has a great balcony to look out at the Mississippi river and the Stone Arch bridge. Had the weather been nicer, we probably would have taken a walk around the Stone Arch bridge. There is a great Saturday farmer’s market there in the summertime. If we had more time, the Foshay Observation Deck is something that I would love to take them to.

Bakken Museum This museum is all about electricity. It’s laid out in a gorgeous old mansion. This museum is another that is great for all ages, and they have events for adults. Last year a friend and I went to an adults only event where they had live music, lawn games, drinks, and food.

Children’s Theatre We looked into getting tickets to one of their shows this weekend, but they were all sold out. I took my “Little” to a play there a few months ago, and it was fantastic! The theatre is connected to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a free art museum, so you can check out some paintings before or after the show too.

Food While the boys are in town, we are trying to eat all sorts of new things. We ate tacos last night, Chinese food for lunch in honor of the Chinese New Year today, and then for dinner we went to Gorkha Palace in NE for Indian food. After dinner, we stopped by Sota Hot & Cold for some Thai rolled ice cream (best ice cream ever). Calvin asked if we could go back tomorrow. The boys and I are going to Origami tomorrow for sushi (they have their happy hour specials all day on Sundays). It’s just a weekend of getting them to try my favorite foods.

What other suggestions to you have for kids in Minneapolis?

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