Things to do with kids in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota?

Question

I'll be traveling to Minneapoils/St. Paul, MN in mid June with my family. What can you recommend for families with kids between the ages of 4 and 10?

Answer 1

There is actually a lot to do in the area. My suggestions are:

The Minnesota Science Museum- really cool place! Floors of interactive displays and a bunch of neat stuff. Could keep kids of any age as well as parents entertained for hours.
http://www.smm.org/
The Museum has an omnitheater, a dome theater with 360 of projection, and the videos they play are usually really neat.

The Minnesota Zoo- Well, a zoo a guess. It's a nice one, lots of animals, and I personally find it really cool!
http://www.mnzoo.org/
The Zoo also has an imax theater, which is always really cool, and they almost always have a good movie playing there.

The Mall of America... obviously.. over 500 stores, theme park, who knows how many restaurants.. if you haven't been there before you should visit at least once.
http://www.mallofamerica.com/

The Minnesota Twins! - they should be good this year again! Cheap tickets are only $6 and the atmosphere is very family
friendly.
http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=min

Valleyfair- A fun dry and wet amusement park, with very reasonable prices. Of course, they have the huge hardcore rides, but a lot of smaller ones as well, along with a "kidland"
http://www.valleyfair.com/

There are alot more, but these are the big ones. Hope this helps!

-B
http://www.exploreminnesota.com/twin_cities_metro_region.html

Answer 2

In addition to the other ideas already mentioned, Mill City Museum (lots of fun hands-on stuff and often smells like fresh baked bread), Bandana Square or the Jackson Street Roundhouse (to see model trains), Como Zoo and Conservatory (it's free and there's a cool old carousel), James J. Hill House, the Walker Art Center (recently updated, very cool. they have family events), the Bell Museum of Nat'l History, the Bakken Museum (electricity and magnetism, hands-on stuff), the Depot downtown (hotel with waterpark and indoor skating rink). Oh, and definitely spend some time at the chain of lakes (probably Lake Harriet, which is where more families hang out) and Minnehaha Falls. Linden Hills is a very nice neighborhood with cute shops by Lake Harriet.
Have fun!

Answer 3

In addition to the things others have mentioned, take the Hiawatha light rail downtown and explore the skywalk system. Your kids will have fun taking the train (which is easy and very safe), and the skyway (which conencts all the downtown stores and businesses) is fun and different from what you'll find in most other cities.

Answer 4

Indoor fun...

Mall of America, which has camp snoopy in it.

Indoor Waterpark just west of Mall is nice

Minnesota Twins Baseball, they have a nice family section where you can avoid people who have had too much to drink

Outdoor fun

Various lakes and parks

Valley Fair in Shakopee...amusement park and waterpark in one...great all day fun

Answer 5

in addition to the above the childrens museum at the science museum is pretty cool,also a dinner cruise on lake minnetonka would be fun for them

Answer 6

I HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A FEW MEETING WITH MY COMPANY. LOOK INTO THE WALKWAY SYSTEM THEY HAVE AROUND THE LAKE. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL NEIGHBORHOOD AND HAS MILES OF SHORELINE AND THINGS TO DO. VERY IMPRESSIVE AREA WITH LOTS TO SEE. GREAT PLACE TO TAKE THE KIDS BIKING AS WELL AS WALKING...