In 1907, the Science Museum of Minnesota was built in downtown St. Paul right on the banks of the Mississippi river. The museum was built with an effort to strike people’s curiosity on topics like history, sports, art and technology. With multiple exhibits checking all the right boxes on these topics, none of them fall short of being educational, entertaining and welcoming to all ages.
Walking into the museum, I didn’t know quite what to expect. My first main impression was on the unexpected size of the museum. From the outside, the building’s deceivingly small size hides the grandness that the exhibits hold. The building sections off each exhibit from the moment you enter going down floors to ground level, but also has a nice way of blending certain exhibits and topics together. I feel like the museum made it this way to purposefully show visitors coming in how all types of science blend together the same way, like how math-centered science is also found in the sports science and art science areas.Â
All the exhibits were completely different, which I found to be really cool. I liked how no exhibit was portrayed as bigger or more significant than the other — it was all balanced out and the attraction it got from people purely came from the interest people had on the topic. My favorite exhibit was probably the sports zone. The exhibit had a small track to run on with a large screen featuring a cool interactive game where visitors could use an iPad screen to pick someone or something to race against. It’s something I have never seen anywhere else and it looks really fun, and the kids clearly think the same thing too.Â
What made touring the building the most fun for me was definitely just seeing all the kids playing and having a blast. The kids overall make the experience of the museum because the zones and exhibits really come alive when you can hear and see the interaction they get from kids. What makes the museum really special is how the kids like the exhibits for how fun they are and how they can play with everything. At the same time, they are subconsciously learning about all the science behind what they are having fun with, and become more interested in the topic as a whole.Â
It’s impossible to talk about the experience of the museum without bringing up the coolest feature the museum has to offer. The centerpiece of the whole building is a huge inflatable astronaut that floats in the middle of all the exhibits, and can be seen from every floor of the building. Just like the rest of the museum, the astronaut is also a game. There is an iPad screen where visitors can record themselves making silly faces for a few seconds. The recording projects itself on the astronaut’s helmet so you can feel like you are the center of attraction. It’s super funny to see all the little kids playing with it and being silly.Â
Overall, I had a really good time at the museum. I wasn’t bored or underwhelmed by any of it, and would love to go back with friends or just by myself. The staff was really friendly and inviting. While the Science Museum of Minnesota is not specifically labeled as a children’s museum, it finds a really neat way to make it especially engaging for them. The beauty of the building and the history of the museum makes the experience worth your time, and I recommend visiting whenever you’re with family or friends.
Science Museum of Minnesota: ★★★★★
