Ball-o-rama Returns to Minnesota Children’s Museum

Special exhibit is a rolling, looping, spinning race to the finish

Get ready to race, roll and have a ball! Ball-o-rama returns to Minnesota Children’s Museum, opening in the museum’s Special Exhibit Gallery on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023.

In this popular special exhibit, visitors will learn about early physics concepts through 10 interactive, hands-on stations. By questioning, analyzing and testing, kids explore velocity, gravity, friction and more by sending balls on a looping, rolling race to the finish.

Exhibit Details

Each of the 10 unique stations is designed to encourage hands-on experimentation by putting ball-racing challenges into the hands of visitors.

• Motion in a Dish – Send balls down a ramp and funnel and watch as gravity launches them into a giant spiral.
• Ski Jump – Experiment to find out what happens when two balls are released on two different, yet similar, ramps.
• The Spiral – Launch balls down a twirling, corkscrew track and watch as they travel faster and faster.
• Loop-the-Loop – It’s a race to the finish as balls are launched down ramps into loops and visitors explore gravity, speed and energy in motion.
• Hit the Bucket – Send a ball down the big ramp in an attempt to hit the moving target at the end.
• Big U – Send a ball down a ‘U’ shaped track to see if it can get to the other end of the track without being pushed.
• Toss-o-tron – Toss a ball into a hole and discover which route it will take down.
• Roller Coaster – Send a ball on a roller coaster ride and experiment with gravity to see how the ball moves across the hills depending on where it’s released from.
• Bounce-a-torium – Enter the giant enclosed rink to bounce a range of balls off ramps, angles and textured surfaces that offer unique bounce experiences.
• Mini Golf – Play a quick round with two new mini golf holes.

Ball-o-Rama runs through Jan. 21, 2024, in the Special Exhibit Gallery on the fourth floor of Minnesota Children’s Museum. Admission to the exhibit is included in general admission. Museum admission is $16 to $19 per person for ages 1 to 101. Museum members get in free. Tickets are available at https://mcm.org/tickets.

Minnesota Children’s Museum is dedicated to sparking children’s learning through play. Our vision: “Kids play more. Adults do, too. All families thrive in a happier, healthier and more innovative community through the radiant power of play.” The museum, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021, has provided playful learning experiences to more than 12 million visitors. The museum’s downtown St. Paul location features three floors of fun and 11 interactive exhibits. As the nation’s leading developer of traveling children’s museum exhibits, the museum is a trailblazer in creating immersive learning environments, reaching more than 10 million children and adults in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Visit mcm.org for more information.

Media Contact:
Jessica Petrie
Director of Marketing & Communications
jpetrie@mcm.org
651-225-6110 (office)
952-215-6360 (cell)