Minnesota Children's Museum

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Drop-In Activities

Discover a new world with every visit.

Minnesota Children's Museum is buzzing with learning experiences cleverly disguised as play. Our permanent galleries, traveling exhibits, and loads of daily drop-in activities are expertly designed to spark learning and plenty of wide-eyed "wows!"

The Museum's daily activities change regularly, ensuring children have new experiences every time. With so many exciting programs on offer, it's easy to drop in, hang out, and delight in the Museum's daily doses of educational fun:

Spark Cart *Become anything you want to be.* Atrium, times vary Express. Create. Imagine. At the Spark Cart, you can become anything you want to be. Here, kids paint their own face using washable, water-soluble crayons and lots of encouraged creativity. This popular face-painting drop-in activity is suitable for children of all ages and promotes self-awareness, creative thinking, dramatic play, and tons of laughter and fun.
Big Fun! *Shake out your sillies and show off your skills.* Atrium, daily at 11:30 a.m. and Friday evenings at 6 p.m. The entire atrium seems to shake, rattle and roll with energy release during Big Fun! Children love these lively physical activities that "shake out their sillies." And parents appreciate how the non-competitive, creative romping encourages large-motor-skill development and channels kids' pent-up energy. Big Fun! includes activities for young children such as team-led scarf-and-ribbon dancing and giant parachute ball tosses. And for the older kids, supplies such as hula hoops, pogo sticks, moon shoes, carpet skates and balance beams provide plenty of opportunities to show off new skills.
Exploration Station Get your hands dirty at this station loaded with one-of-a-kind creations. Curiosity Center, 2nd floor Weekdays, 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. The fun, multi-sensory pop-in activities at Exploration Station encourage kids to explore, make, create, and experience nearly everything under the sun. From painting with colored ice cubes or toothbrushes to turning gooey messes into works of art, these cool, creative projects promote self-expression and imagination. Best of all, the station overflows with a mess of fun kids love.
Family Arts *Discover your inner Picasso.* Fridays 6 -7:30 p.m. Rooftop ArtPark Glass Studio (May - September) Want to inspire that budding artist in the family? At Family Arts, kids can work with authentic artist-quality media and tools to create their own masterpiece. The creative, hands-on activities here are designed to encourage children's artistic expression and bring together families through fun creations. Every child and adult can feel like the next Picasso in the real-world art studio.
Inventor’s Workshop *With your creativity and our materials, what will you invent?* Curiosity Center Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Experiment, explore, build and imagine at the drop-in Inventor's Workshop, where unique creations are born every day. Kids are encouraged to build 3-D designs using a variety of new and recycled materials. This special hands-on activity is designed to promote invention, imagination, and problem solving, and arouse children's curiosity and creativity.
Animal Programs *Get an up-close-and-personal look at snakes and turtles in this interactive program.* Earth World Lodge, 5th floor Daily, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Animal programs provide children with hands-on opportunities to interact with the Museum's turtles and snakes while learning about their natural habitat. Through programs like Turtle Time, Snake Sense, Chow Time and Turtle Sunbathing, kids can learn about the environment and how it works, gain a new respect for nature, and understand how to express empathy for living creatures.
Story Time and Bedtime Books Let your imagination run wild in story land. Atrium Daily, 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Friday evening Bedtime Books, 7 p.m. Visitors can ignite their imaginations in the Museum's daily story time sessions. Here, interactive, engaging stories offer children an opportunity to be carried away by fascination and fun. Early-reading and listening skills are reinforced as stories spark curiosity and a passion for learning.
Studio Arts *Discover where nature and art collide.* Rooftop ArtPark Glass Studio Daily, Memorial Day through Labor Day 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. (weather permitting) The daily drop-in programs at the Rooftop ArtPark are designed to bring together nature and creative expression. These hands-on arts programs offer kids an opportunity to explore a wide range of media and use the natural world around them to create works of art. Here, raindrops can become paint and sidewalks can become a canvas. Kids are encouraged to explore their environment to express themselves in new and imaginative ways.