Travels with Children

Harkin Store

8 miles northwest of New Ulm, MN, on County Road 21. 507-354-8666 or 507-934-2160. www.mnhs.org/places/sites/hs/
$2 adults. Under 13 free. Free parking. Stroller accessibility via handicapped parking and entrance, but better to leave the stroller behind.

When the railroad passed by West Newton, Minnesota, the Harkin Store closed with much of its inventory still on the shelves. Stepping into the Harkin Store is stepping back in time to the 1870’s. Costumed guides tell about the store’s history and its importance to West Newton. For toddlers, it’s not so interesting, but once the kids are old enough to try on the pioneer hats, help grind coffee, and check for mail in the post office, it’s a really neat place to visit. If you’re there at a quiet time, you can ask all the questions you want from the knowledgeable guides, and linger to play a game of checkers if you want.

The kids and I went to the Harkin Store twice this summer and learned about half of the store each time. (They were really hoping there would be mail for them the second time, so they were very immersed in their time-travels.) They want to go back again and are disappointed that it is closed during the winter.

One note about visiting with kids: the parking lot is down the hill and across the road from the site, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on them as the road can be busy. The drive to the store is pretty along one of Minnesota’s “Scenic Byways,” and if you want to continue the river drive, you can continue on to Fort Ridgely and the Lower Sioux Agency and make a full day of history along the Minnesota River.

The Harkin Store is a learning experience for young and old alike, a real gem from the past.

I really liked the people who showed us around and we got to get candy sticks.

Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum

16th and Kiwanis Ave., Sioux Falls, SD.  605-367-7003.  www.gpzoo.org
Adults $6.80, 3-12 $3.80, Seniors 60+ $6.00, 2 and under free.  Free parking.  Stroller accessible.  Restrooms available.

A zoo in the winter in the northern states isn’t always a great idea, but the zoo in Sioux Falls has the benefit of having a museum attached, so even if you can’t brave the cold for long, you can learn something indoors.  We visited on a quiet January day and had the place nearly to ourselves.

The Delbridge Museum consists of mounted animals in varying habitats; the kids liked going from the tundra to the desert and seeing the different animals that live in the different continents.

Then we headed outside to the zoo, where there weren’t a lot of animals in view due to the weather.  We did make the rounds to see a few animals, but most were not on display because of the cold.

The zoo and museum were a nice stop to get the wiggles out of the kids before a long car ride, but it would have been a lot more fun in the summertime when more animals are there to see.

Great Lakes Aquarium

353 Harbor Drive, Duluth, MN. 218-740-3474. www.glaquarium.org
$12.95 adults, $6.95 ages 3-11, Seniors 62+ $9.95, Under 3 Free. Parking $4.00. Stroller accessible. Restrooms available.

Let me start by saying that this was definitely not one of our bargain stops. Even with two children free, this is more than I usually pay for admission. But, when in Duluth, one should see what’s in Duluth, so to the aquarium we went. Located in Duluth’s Canal Park area, it’s easy to find and convenient to restaurants and hotels.

The staff and volunteers were very friendly and pointed out things we’d want to see, like the stingray feeding and other things on the daily schedule. They were happy to talk about the aquarium and Duluth in general, including our questions about the Aerial Lift Bridge.

The kids enjoyed watching the stingray feeding, seeing the many fishtanks, and, of course, playing in the water tables. I really liked the turtles, and the views of the bridge and harbor.

Although the aquarium itself is a big place and was interesting to see, I’m not sure that it worth the price of admission for the amount of time we spent there. Perhaps with older kids, it would be more worthwhile, but with little ones who have short attention spans, we didn’t spend a lot of time there. Still, we enjoyed our visit, and it was a nice afternoon activity on a chilly Duluth winter day.

I really liked feeding the stingray.

Graue Mill

3800 S. York Road, Oak Brook, IL. 630-655-2090 (museum) or 630-920-9720 (office). www.grauemill.org
Adults $3.50, 4-12 $1.50, 3 and under free. Free parking. Not easily stroller accessible. Restrooms available in nearby park area.

The Graue Mill is one of those pieces of history that is probably overlooked by many visitors to the Chicago area, but when I came across it in our travel information and mentioned it to my husband, I had his attention immediately and it became one of our “must-see” sites. You see, the Graue Mill is not only the only operating water gristmill in Illinois, but it is a documented stop on the Underground Railroad. What an interesting piece of history!

We visited the Graue Mill on a Sunday afternoon when they were having a scavenger hunt for the kids. They had to visit all three floors of the mill to find specific objects and jot them on their papers. Along the way, artisans and interpreters were there to bring the mill to life. Perhaps most exciting was the actual demonstration of the milling process, where my oldest was chosen to go behind-the-rail and help grind the grain.

Outside the mill, there are nice paths where you can watch the wheel at work, or walk along the adjacent stream and keep a restless toddler happy for a while.

We were very glad to have found the Graue Mill. It was not only very interesting for my husband and me, but the kids still talk about it as well.

I really liked watching the gears turn round and round and doing the model of the mill.

Minnesota State Capitol

Just north of downtown St. Paul, MN. 651-296-2881. www.mnhs.org/statecapitol
Free. Metered parking available (free on Saturdays although we didn’t learn this until we’d put in our quarters). Stroller accessible through handicapped entrance under stairs, but more fun without the stroller. Restrooms available.

Since our last trip to the State Capitol was cut short due to a mom’s not knowing the closing time, we decided to return again at the request of the kids, and this time we let Dad come as well. We left the stroller in the car and let our toddler walk up the big staircase into the building, and the beautiful staircases inside. We paid $2 for a guide to a special “State Capitol Art Treasures Hunt” that was going on and went off to find the treasures.

The treasure hunt was a neat way to see the Capitol building. Instead of wandering aimlessly about, we had something to keep our eyes open for and backtracked more than once trying to see everything. Along the way, we saw the House and Senate chambers, and the Supreme Court (which the kids thought looked like a church). We also found gophers in the railing, a griffin, several ornate letter M’s, and the north star.

The main drawback to the visit for this mom was that the railings around the rotunda are only about 3 1/2 feet tall, and there are benches that back up to them, so with climbers in my midst, I was more than a little nervous at the drops to the rotunda below and kept a safe distance and a pretty tight grip on my littlest ones.

It was neat to be able to explain a little bit of government to the kids in the context of the Capitol, and for them to see how beautiful and ornate a building it is. I’m sure they’ll be back again some day on school field trips, but it was a fun family stop for us as well.

I really liked doing the scavenger hunt.

Minnesota Children’s Museum

7th and Wabasha, Downtown St. Paul, MN. 651-225-6000. $7.95 Ages 1-101. Parking in adjacent ramp is discounted for MCM visitors. Reciprocity through ACM. Stroller accessible. Restrooms with changing tables available; diaper vendor available in Habitot area. Light menu available in gift shop; McDonald’s and Subway are just across the skyway.

The Minnesota Children’s Museum is a favorite location for our kids to visit. The first time we went there, five years ago, we had one toddler, two parents, an aunt, and an uncle, so keeping track of the child wasn’t too bad. With four children now, it’s a more daunting task. I had the choice of going on a Friday, just the kids and me, and face the school field-trip groups, or to go on Saturday with my husband and fight the Saturday crowds. We chose Saturday.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a great museum. It’s just that everyone else in the Twin Cities seems to have figured this out as well, so on weekends and school holidays, it is very, very crowded. And although most of the museum is well-designed, the elevators are about the slowest ones I’ve ever seen, and the hallway in front of them is the narrowest part of the building, so the area by the elevators is crowded all of the time.

If you will be visiting for the first time, keep in mind that all the exhibits are on the second and fourth floors. If you enter through the skyway, you’ll already be on the second level, but you’ll have to go down to the first floor to pay, and then use the staircase or the (really slow) elevator to go up to floors two or four for the fun. If you accidentally get off on 3, you’ll have to wait for the elevator to come back again. Just remember, “4 and 2, there’s lots to do. 3 and 1, you’ll miss the fun.”

There are two traveling exhibit areas, which were showcasing Curious George and Sesame Street when we were there. These exhibits change every few months and vary in their interest levels for the kids. A Habitot area on the fourth floor is designed for younger tots and is a fun place for the younger set if you have another adult along to keep an eye on their older siblings, as it’s for ages 3 and under. A workshop area allows kids to be messy, er, creative, at different times of the day, and the atrium area on the second floor offers character meet-and-greets, story times, and “big fun.”

The three permanent exhibit areas are the favorites of my kids, however. World Works offers a paper-making studio, lights and shadows, a kid-sized factory (where my kids would spend all day if they could), and a water-and-bubble area that’s always a hit. Our World has a pretend grocery store and restaurant as well as a school bus, music studio, clinic, and other neighborhood role-play opportunities. In Earth World, the kids can crawl in a giant anthill, make their own thunderstorm, or watch turtles swimming. These areas are what my kids enjoy the most at the museum.

If you really want to enjoy the museum, watch the calendar for Habitot Tuesdays, when there are no school groups and they have special activities for preschoolers. The museum’s website also lists some other suggestions for visiting at quieter times.

The Minnesota Children’s Museum really is a fun place for kids, and even though we’ve been there many times, the kids enjoy going back again and again.

I really like going to the exhibits, especially the forest one, because I like doing the thunder and lightning.

St. Paul Central Library

90 W. 4th, St. Paul, MN. 651-266-7000. www.stpaul.lib.mn.us/
Free. Parking available in nearby ramps. Stroller accessible. Restrooms with changing tables. Cafe on-site.

After visiting the Minnesota Children’s Museum, we decided to go for a walk through the mostly-deserted skyways in downtown St. Paul to the Central Library. The kids and I had done this walk before, on a crowded weekday at noon, and it was much more enjoyable since I now knew the way and since the hallways were mostly empty. What would have been about a four-block walk outside was probably a mile through the skyways, but it was nice to be coatless and to see a different view of things.

The only drawback of the skyway system is that there is a trick to finding the elevators between the Wells Fargo World Trade Center and the Fifth Street Center. On the way to the library, we put the stroller on the escalator (Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone!) because we couldn’t find an elevator. On the way back, we finally figured it out–the trick is to use the elevator in Macy’s and go through Town Square rather than the Ecolab Center. We’ll add that to our bag of tricks for our next trip.

The Central Library’s children’s area is a haven. It’s very quiet and calm there, and has many toys as well as books for the kids to enjoy. Each of the kids settled right in and found an age-appropriate, quiet activity to do, and my husband and I enjoyed sitting down and watching them. We always enjoy visiting new libraries, and this is one of my favorites; it’s a very cozy place away from the busy streets outside.

I really liked going in the children’s area in the library and going in the skywalks.  I liked looking down on the street.

Fort Ridgely Historic Site

Fort Ridgely State Park, off Hwy. 4, seven miles south of Fairfax, MN.  507-426-7888.  www.mnhs.org/places/sites/fr/
$2 adults; 18 and under free.  Vehicle permit for state park required ($5 day pass available).  Stroller accessible.  Restrooms available.

We made our way to Fort Ridgely this summer on a daytrip of nearby Minnesota historic sites, starting with Lower Sioux Agency, stopping at Fort Ridgely, and ending at the Harkin Store.  Fort Ridgely is a natural visit following the Lower Sioux Agency, as both detail the 1862 Dakota Conflict, which is also known as the Sioux Uprising.  Exhibits and a video and diorama give the timeline of events of the conflict, and outside the building are ruins of other parts of the fort with signs telling of their purpose at the fort.  While my toddler and I hid in the shade, the two of the older kids ran from place to place, and the third, who is very interested in history, lingered to read each of the signs.

Although it wasn’t a long stop, it fit in nicely with our “historic” theme of the day and sparked enough questions that we made a trip to New Ulm the next week to learn more about how the Dakota Conflict affected that town.

1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL. 312-922-9410. www.fieldmuseum.org
$12 adults, $7 ages 4-11, students with ID, and 65+. Discount for Chicago residents.
Parking $15/day. Stroller accessible. Restrooms with changing tables.
Restaurants available (including McDonald’s).
ASTC reciprocity.

I knew that the Field Museum was one of the “big” Chicago museums, but I wasn’t sure how kid-oriented it would be. I shouldn’t have been worried. First of all, if one of the museum restaurants is McDonald’s, I should have guessed that kids would like it.

We had taken the Metra train into downtown Chicago and had walked almost three miles to get to the Field Museum, so when we arrived just before noon, the kids were all hungry. We flashed our ASTC reciprocity cards, which allowed free admission to everything but a few special exhibits, and promptly found one of the largest McDonalds I’ve ever been in. They were well set up for families with lots of high chairs and a “cave” area with additional seating, but a stroller parking area would have been nice so that we weren’t blocking so much of the aisle with our single and double strollers.

After lunch, we headed out into the exhibit areas, learning about different civilizations, seeing the big elephant and Sue, the t. rex. Volunteers were on hand to help the kids with a giant floor puzzle of North and South America and to show them how to find fossils in the floor, which was a big hit for my six-year-old.

All areas of the museum were easily accessible with our strollers, but sometimes we got just a little bit lost. The exhibit areas make a lot of twists and turns, and if a child gets ahead of you and around a corner, it can be hard to find him. There were also a few exhibits where we got so turned around that we couldn’t easily find the way out.

We spent nearly three hours at the Field Museum, which is a long time in one building with our little kids’ short attention spans.

I liked putting together the map puzzle of the world.

I really liked finding fossils in the floor.