Sometimes when we travel, the experiences we have are just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.  Take, for example, something unique that happened while we were at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts yesterday.

As several children, mine included, were working on a project, a group of men from China asked if it would be all right to photograph them.  The English speaker of the group mentioned that they were from Beijing, and the couple across the table replied that they had been there last winter.  Striking up a conversation, the man said that one of his group was an artist; apparently a group of artists were visiting MIA for the day.

The English-speaking man said that the artist, Zhu Ming De, would demonstrate his skill, so an open place at the table was found for him to sit down and work.  He happened to be seated across from my children, and when he glanced around looking for a subject, he focused first on my three-year-old daughter, who was very intent on her work.

Soon, he was drawing furiously, and in the matter of a few minutes, he had drawn three of my children as they worked on their projects.  He wrote something in Chinese at the bottom of the picture, then posed with the subjects of his drawing before presenting the artwork to museum staff.

It was an experience that we couldn’t have planned, and something that added just a little more interest to our day at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

One Sunday each month, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts hosts a Target Family Day that includes a wide variety of activities in the museum.  Admission to the museum is always free, as are the family day activities, and for yesterday’s “Art Smart” Louvre-themed day, Target generously sponsored free admission to the special Louvre exhibit.

As far as special family-oriented museum programs go, MIA’s is probably the best I’ve seen.  The programs are well-coordinated to the theme of the day, utilize many different areas of the museum, and include a variety of fine arts.  Moving through the museum to the various programs, my children made connections from one area to another:  the pyramids they made are like the pyramid that is the grand entrance to the Louvre.  While making their pyramids, pieces of art were projected onto a screen.  When we visited the Louvre exhibit, they recognized those works of art.  At the French class, the pyramids were discussed, as was the artwork from the exhibit.  In the drawing class, students used exhibit pieces as inspiration.  And at the opera, the music was connected to the art from the exhibit.  By the end of the day, my children had come into contact with important works of art several times, so that they will remember them.

We arrived just after noon and didn’t leave until just before the museum’s 5:00 closing.  During this time, we were busy with activities and seeing the Louvre exhibit.  When I later asked my children what their favorites were, each had a different answer.  “The mimes!” said the boys; the girls were a bit afraid of the Phantom of the Opera mime.  “Decorating the vases at the art cart,” said another child.  “Painting the plates,” was another response.  My favorite was the Parlez-Vous Art class, which had the children speaking an amazing amount of French in just 30 minutes, and involved even the young children in the workshop.

While moving from activity to activity, we explored the Art Institute.  The kids had picked up maps on the way in, and promptly led us around to all of the featured artwork shown on the map.  Their favorite was Van Gogh’s Olive Trees, which they recognized from an episode of Little Einsteins.

Staff and volunteers were friendly and helped the children with their projects as necessary.  For all of the activities, families could come and go as they wished.  A brochure outlining the day’s events showed the what, when, and where of everything going on.

The museum was busy but not overwhelmingly so.  For families with young children who needed a break from the action, the family center was available with toys, comfortable chairs, and a family restroom.

I’ve sometimes felt intimidated at art museums because I honestly don’t know a lot about art.  Family Day at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts makes art accessible to everyone, and I hope that by taking my children there while they’re young, they’ll develop an understanding and enjoyment of art as they continue their travels.

The Weisman Art Museum is another one of those places that we just happened upon.   We had taken our bikes into the Cities, parked at St. Anthony Main, and then rode across the Stone Arch Bridge and past Mill City Museum and just kept going.  After passing Bohemian Flats, where the remains of the collapsed 35W bridge lay twisted and rusting, we decided to get back to the other side of the river for our return journey.

We crossed the nearest bridge and at its end found ourselves at the Weisman Art Museum, so we parked our bikes and trailers and helmets and went inside to explore.

We wandered through the museum, perusing the exhibits and talking about them.  The kids were afraid to go into the replica of an apartment/hotel building with its realistic sounds and smells, but they enjoyed looking at the rest of the exhibits.

Our stay at the Weisman wasn’t long, but it was a good opportunity to see the inside of this building that looks so very interesting from the outside, especially since we didn’t have to worry about navigating the campus streets and finding parking.  Our stop at the Weisman was an interesting part of our Minneapolis bike tour.

It’s been a crazy few weeks, so I’ve been remiss in posting links to other good family travel posts.  I hope you enjoy this edition.

• Family Fun at Center Grove Orchard, Cambridge, IA, at Have Kid Will Travel.
• A Possibly-Haunted Covered Bridge at Midwest Guest.
• 8 Free Kid-Free Activities in Dayton, OH, at Wandering Off.
• Pretend City in Irvine, CA, at DeliciousBaby.
• Slide Rock State Park, AZ, at Travel Savvy Mom.
• Mall of America, Bloomington, MN, at The Vacation Gals.
• Jacksonville Zoo (FL) Spooktacular at The Rocket Scientist’s Guide to Raising Kids.
• Long Layovers with Kids at Travel Savvy Mom.

Happy travels!

Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Chief Sleepy Eyes.  Near historic depot, Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

Since Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, I took the kids into the Cities for the day.

We put on costumes first thing in the morning and stopped at our local library and bank, which had morning trick-or-treat hours.  Then we headed for Chanhassen, where Market Square, anchored by Cub Foods and featuring many other stores and businesses, had its 16th annual Halloween Spooktacular from 11-1.  Nearly all the businesses in the area participated, hosting trick-or-treaters and featuring a jump house, games, and other activities.  All the stores were generous with their Halloween treats, but my children’s favorite was the bag of non-food treats from Cost Cutters, including small flashlights and lighted yo-yos.  The were a definite hit with my bunch.

After lunch, we headed to The Works in Edina.  This is one of my favorite science museums, and they were offering half-price admission to kids in costume today.  I didn’t tell the kids we were going there, so they squealed with delight when they spotted it.  My five-year-old daughter said, “This is my favorite place to go. No, my second-favorite, after my best friend’s house.  No, actually, this is my favorite.”

Unfortunately for The Works but perfectly for us, very few people were at the hands-on museum on Halloween.  For a period of time, we had the museum proper to ourselves.  We built with the foam blocks, made a huge marble run, raced our K’nex cars, and did our favorite things over and over before heading into the workshop to work with invisible ink and then across the hall to a special “mysterious” exhibit area.  If you’re in the Metro area and haven’t been to The Works yet, you really should go.  I love watching the kids’ minds grow there as they explore math and science in fun, hands-on ways.

Then we headed to Mall of America for what is billed as the “world’s largest indoor trick-or-treat” event.  With the outside temperature at 35 degrees, being indoors was nice, but apparently the rest of the Cities had figured this out as well.  There were looong lines for the goodie-bag giveaway and costume contest, and plenty of people throughout the mall concourses.  Although it was advertised that 150-200 stores would be giving out treats, it appeared to me that only 20-25% of the stores were participating.  Most that were in the Halloween spirit were giving out candy at the door, while a few had the kids walk through the store for their treats.  A lollipop here, a Tootsie Roll there, with the occasional promotional poster, sticker, or discount coupon, none of the treats were spectacular.  I was especially surprised (and disappointed) to see that some stores that are supported almost entirely by parents of children (I mean you, Gymboree) were not giving out treats.  With an hour and a half of trick-or-treating time left, my kids declared that they wanted to head back to the car with just a handful of candy in their bags.  They just weren’t having that much fun.

The bright spot of the Mall of America trick-or-treating event was the Allergy-Free Zone, sponsored by the Anaphylaxis & Food Allergy Association of Minnesota.  This area, open to everyone, was a safe place where non-food treats were given out along with information about food allergies.  “Mad Scientists” led the kids in hands-on science demonstrations for some extra fun.  To keep the area allergy-safe, children’s candy bags were put into large grocery bags and stapled shut while visiting the area, and people were asked to clean their hands before entering the activity area.  We waited in line for 25 minutes until it was our turn for the activities, but it was a big boost for my peanut-allergic son to have this area that was safe for him in the midst of the other uncertainties of Halloween.  When I asked the kids later if the wait was worth it, they all said “yes.”  Thanks to AFAA for providing this safe area for food-allergic kids as well as increasing awareness of food allergies for others who attended.

All in all, we had a nice day.  I would definitely recommend Chanhassen’s Market Square event to other parents, as well as a visit to The Works.  Personally, I won’t do a repeat visit to Mall of America for Halloween, but if you don’t mind crowds and lines, and do like to stay in from the cold, it might be for you.

What fun things did you do for Halloween?  What costumes did you enjoy the most?  (My kids were surprised, almost appalled, at the number of princesses wandering around today.)

Kiesling House, New Ulm, MN

I first heard of the Milton House Museum from The Mother of All Trips, and I was pleased when it fit into our own Wisconsin vacation.  This pioneer-era inn in the small town of Milton, Wisconsin, doubled as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and included a secret tunnel from the basement of the Milton House to a log cabin next door.  Joseph Goodrich, who built the Milton House, also donated land for many of the public buildings and parks in the Milton area.

After seeing the hexagonal-shaped Milton House and being told of its history, we were taken to the basement and then led through the tunnel, emerging in the floor of the log cabin.  The guides were excellent at explaining things to our kids, who had plenty of questions.

It’s fun to see the connections that our children make as we visit different places.  We’ve seen another Underground Railroad stop at the Graue Mill near Chicago.  The dresses of the guides at the Milton House in Wisconsin were similar to those we’ve seen at Civil War reenactment camps at Fort Ridgely in Minnesota.  We learned more about the Minnesota Civil War regiments at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  And so it goes, history becoming more real as we travel.

Milton House, Milton, Wisconsin