The Minnesota Children’s Museum Will Keep Your Kids Busy For Hours

It had been about 25 years since I last went to the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul and I had forgotten just how amazing the whole thing is. After all, it is a four-story building (plus rooftop and outdoor attractions during warm weather) just for kids to be kids!

My four-year-old and I both had a blast with all the hands-on activities offered at the museum, from building towers of giant Legos to sliding down a huge tube slide we spent hours there and could have stayed much longer if they hadn't closed!

Our first stop was the giant indoor slide and climbing tower called "The Scramble." I am quite confident my kid would have been perfectly happy just staying here the whole time. He had a lot of fun being brave trying the slide and the net suspended WAY above the ground-level.

Next up, we checked out the giant building blocks. The whole point of building a giant tower is to knock it down, of course! My son learned it would fall down easier if you don't lock the blocks together... pretty smart!

The museum is currently featuring a temporary Thomas the Train exhibit (through May 8), with a giant Thomas the Train to climb on, a big wooden train track set with toys to play with and interactive videos.

Next up was a trip to "Shipwreck Adventure" where kids can be on TV via green screen, check out famous shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and more.

The "Forces At Play" exhibit featured a car wash, a place to create a winding track for ping-pong balls and ping pong ball launchers.

My favorite part was the "diver training area," a laser maze like action heroes use in movies when trying to evade advanced security systems.

Another room my son REALLY loved was the "Our World" room, featuring a very popular Post Office setup with conveyer belts, boxes and ramps that kids LOVED playing with.

IF YOU GO: 

WHAT: Minnesota Children's Museum
WHERE: 10 West Seventh Street in St. Paul, MN
COST: Tickets cost $14.95/person regardless of age
WHEN: Hours 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (Closed Mon/Tues)