Travels with Children

Spam Museum

Just off I-90, Austin, MN. 800-LUV-SPAM. www.spam.com
Free admission. Free parking. Stroller accessible. Restrooms available.

Time for another admission: Before we visited the Spam Museum, I had never eaten Spam. (Not unless it was unknowingly hidden in something, that is.) I made fun of Spam. I wasn’t sure why people ate it. But I’d heard good things about the Spam Museum, and always being up for an outing, convinced my husband to make the drive to Austin on a winter afternoon.

I was impressed! The video shown was interesting and informative, the museum had a lot of Spam history and some great hands-on activities for the kids, and the gift shop contained more things Spam than I’d ever dreamed were possible. It was a fun place to visit, for both the kids and the adults. And the best part–it’s free!

So I dutifully ate a sample of Spam at the museum, and now I occasionally buy it for my family to eat. How many museums have introduced a new food into your life?

I wanted to go back to the Spam Museum on a return trip from Iowa, but it’s closed on Sundays in the winter. I was disappointed. I guess there’s another day trip in our future.

It has lots of cool Spam stuff and my most favorite is when the empty cans go on the conveyor belt.

Oliver Kelley Farm

2.5 miles south of downtown on U.S. 10, Elk River, MN. 763-441-6896. http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/ohkf/
$7 adults, $6 senior citizens, $4 children ages 6-17. Free parking. Some parts stroller accessible. Restrooms in visitors center.

On a hot summer day, we made the drive to Elk River to see the Oliver Kelley Farm historic site. It was well worth the drive.

The visitor’s center includes exhibits about Mr. Kelley and his place in Minnesota history, but the real part of the museum is the working 1800’s farm just down the trail. Costumed interpreters interact with the visitors, and were great with the kids. Our kids got to go down to the root cellar and help weed the 1-acre garden, make cornbread, feed the animals in the barns, pet the kittens, and learn about how farming was done in past times.

Because of the heat, we didn’t explore the trails around the farm and adjacent Mississippi River. We’ll have to save that for our next visit.

It has lots of old farm stuff. My most favorite was in the house and my very most favorite was when we got to go in with the sheep and cows and I also liked feeding the sheep. We got to see how the cows eat. It was so great!

Northwoods Children’s Museum

346 W Division St, Eagle River, WI. 715-479-4623. www.northwoodschildrensmuseum.com
$6 ages 1 to 100. ACM membership reciprocity. Free parking. Stroller accessible. Restrooms with changing tables.

Children’s museums are always fun with young children, but finding one in a small community is a special treat. While visiting family in northern Wisconsin, we were excited to check out the Northwoods Children’s Museum in Eagle River.

This is another museum that operates in one large area, with separate alcoves for certain exhibits, so a parent can easily keep track of several children as they each explore their own interests. Our boys liked the music area, the ranger station, and driving the ambulance, while the girls liked the story area, dress-up room, and fishing in the “stream.” Staff at the museum were very friendly, and laid out the ground rules for the kids (no running, pick up what you’ve played with) before the kids could enter the museum.

One of the things I enjoyed about the museum was that they had a great gift/toy shop, and many of the toys that were for sale in the shop were available for play on the museum floor so the kids could try them out.

If you’re in the north woods of Wisconsin, be sure to take time to visit the Northwoods Children’s Museum.

That place was so fun that I wanted to stay there forever. My most favorite thing was when we got to do the ranger tower.

I really liked the ranger tower. It was really good.

Twin City Model Railroad Museum

1021 Bandana Blvd E, St. Paul, MN. 651-647-9628. www.tcmrm.org
Ages 5 and older $4, under 5 free. Free parking. Stroller accessible. Restrooms available.

With young train-lovers in the house, this is one of our perpetually-requested stops. The kids love going to watch the trains at Bandana Square. The exhibit is large and depicts much of the Twin Cities landscape from days past. We especially like visiting on the days when Thomas the Tank engine is running. You can check the website for the schedule.

When not watching the trains, there are train tables for the kids to play on and a train video playing, but the real attraction here is watching the trains. There are elevated areas around the track for kids to stand on and get a better view, and a few buttons they can push to run a part of the railroad themselves.

If you have kids who like trains, this is a great place to take them. Just be warned that you’ll probably be begged to go back again and again!

That place was very fun. It had a hundred million trains. My most favoritist thing was ringing the bell and when we got to watch the trains. The trains were very colorful and also was the setup.

Sears Tower Skydeck

233 S Wacker Drive (enter on Jackson St.), Chicago, IL. 312-875-9447. www.the-skydeck.com
Adults $12.95, ages 3-11 $9.50, 2 and under free. Pay parking available nearby. Stroller accessible. Restrooms available.

After a day of walking around downtown Chicago, it seemed a shame to walk past the Sears Tower without a visit to the Skydeck. We calmed our 6-year-old’s fears that the elevator would be scary and headed in. First on the tour was an informative video about the history of the Sears Tower, and then we were ushered into the elevators for the ride to the 103rd floor. It was a clear day, and we had a good view of the city, suburbs, and Lake Michigan. When the kids got tired of the view, they could look at the child-sized Chicago exhibit painted on the interior walls.

Although it’s a little expensive, going up into a tall building is something we don’t get to do often, and it was a memorable stop for all of us on our Chicago trip.

My brother thought that the elevator would be as fast as a roller coaster. I liked the movie that we watched.

I really liked going on the elevator and looking out with our binoculars.

Valleyfair

Shakopee, MN.  800-386-7433.  www.valleyfair.com
Various price structures available.  Pay parking.  Stroller accessible.  Restrooms available.  Concessions on-site.

I’ll start off by admitting it:  we’re cheap.  We don’t like spending a lot of money on attractions.  So when we headed to Shakopee to visit Historic Murphy’s Landing, we didn’t even think about going to Valleyfair.

The kids, however, spotted the roller coasters, and we started thinking about the possibility of going to the amusement park.  So, not wanting to spend a ton of money, here’s what we did.

After Murphy’s Landing closed, we stopped down the street to fill our tummies at Burger King so we wouldn’t have to buy food in the park.  Then we headed to Valleyfair at 5 p.m. when they have special starlight admissions.  That way, we could spend four or five hours in the park, which would be long enough for our little ones, without paying full price.

Our kids are still young enough that they all enjoy the young-kid rides for the most part.  We spent a lot of time in the tot park, although the boys got brave enough to ride with their dad on the white roller coaster and the swings.  The train ride around the park was a hit with everyone, and we always love a carousel ride (although we found out too late that not all the rows of horses go up and down on the Valleyfair carousel).

We didn’t venture to the waterpark or the adjacent mini-golf area since time and money were limited.

With young kids, we thought this was a pretty good way to see Valleyfair.  The crowds died down a lot as the evening progressed, and we didn’t spend a lot of money on tickets or concessions by eating an early supper and then entering the park.

It was very fun.  It was like a whole roller coaster with lots of rides on it.  I liked it at night when the lights were on.

I really liked the foam factory.  It was really fun.  I liked it.

Sibley House Historic Site

Downtown Mendota, MN.  651-452-1596.  http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/shs/
$5 adults, $4 seniors, $3 ages 6-17, 5 and under free.  Free parking.  Not stroller accessible.  Restrooms available in gift shop building.

The kids and I stopped at the Sibley House on a summer morning, just in time for a guided tour.  The tour started in the gift shop building and then continued down the hill to the fur-trade building, the Sibley House, and another building on the property.

Our tour guide was very good with the kids, asking them to sit on the rug in the center of a room so they wouldn’t be tempted to touch things, but the hour-long tour was still too long for our youngest, so we bowed out before the tour went to the third building.

Still, the kids learned some things about Henry Hastings Sibley, and we ended our day across the river at Fort Snelling to continue our adventure in Minnesota history.

It had three houses.

Even though we didn’t get to see the third house, it was ok, we didn’t mind.

Stearns History Museum

235 33rd Ave S, St. Cloud, MN.  866-253-8424.  www.stearns-museum.org
$5 adults, $2 children, under 5 free, $12 family.  Free parking.  Stroller accessible.  Restrooms available.

Aside from parks and the mall play area, we haven’t found a lot to do with the kids when outings take us to the St. Cloud area.  (If you know of kid-friendly venues in St. Cloud, please leave a comment!)  We were pleased when a friend recommended the Stearns History Museum.  The museum itself is nice enough, although not hands-on for kids, but the part we enjoy is the children’s room, which has a puppet theater, old-fashioned school desks and slates, and other toys and books for children.  We’ve visited a few times, each time taking a quick look at the exhibit area and then ending with some imaginative play time in the children’s area.

There are also paths and gardens outside the museum, which can be enjoyed if you visit on a day with cooperative weather.

I really liked it.  It was really fun.

Lake Superior Railroad Museum at The Duluth Depot

St. Louis County Heritage and Art Center, 506 West Michigan St., Duluth, MN.  218-727-8025.  www. duluthdepot.org
Admission includes railroad museum, children’s museum, and two other museums:  $10 age 13+, $5.50 ages 3-13, 2 and under free.  AAA discount.  ACM membership reciprocity.  Stroller accessible.  Restrooms available.

As you may have gathered, I have a couple of boys who really like trains, so if we can find a train museum, they’re always happy to stop.  The benefit of the train museum in Duluth is that it’s in the same building as the children’s museum, so we could see two different things with one stop.

Although there are a few small model railroads on display, this museum has actual trains that you go on.  From engines to the mail car to the dining car to the snowplow, you can actually check out real trains.  This was a big deal to the kids, and my husband enjoyed seeing the real trains as well and learning the history of the railroads in Minnesota.

With the combination of trains and a children’s museum, the Depot is a must-see stop if you’re visiting Duluth with young kids.

I liked that place.  It was really fun.  It had a lot of trains and even some trains that people could ride on.  That place was so cool that I wanted to stay there until the season was done.

I really liked the trains.

Minnesota Zoo

13000 Zoo Blvd, Apple Valley, MN.  800-366-7811.  www.mnzoo.com
Zoo only (IMAX additional):  Free 0-2, $8 3-12, $14 13-64, $9 Seniors 65+.  AZA membership reciprocity.  Parking $5.  Stroller accessible.  Restrooms with changing tables.  Cafe on-site.

If you go to the Minnesota Zoo, wear your walking shoes and bring your easiest-to-push stroller, because you’ll be putting on a lot of miles.  The zoo is spread out in an effort to provide a more natural habitat for the animals.  So while there are  bison, takin, tigers, and camels in the outdoor areas, you won’t see elephants, zebras, or giraffes.

One of our favorite parts of the Minnesota Zoo is the Family Farm exhibit.  Even though we live on a farm, the kids still like being able to feed the goats and see the cows and horses up close.  Along the way to the family farm exhibit, there’s a playground, restrooms, and concessions, which makes a nice little break if needed.

The kids also love riding the monorail around the zoo.  There is an additional charge for this, but it’s worth it for the narrated slow-speed tour of the zoo’s outdoor areas.

Even in the winter, there’s plenty to do at the zoo.  Indoors, there’s an aquarium exhibit that’s popular with the younger kids, and a large tropics area where you can spot various birds and other animals.

Several shows, depending on the season, allow some time to sit down and learn something about the animals.  This past summer, we were all excited to see a bald eagle at the bird show.

There is also an Imax theater on the premises, a cafe area, and a workshop area that sometimes offers special programs for kids.

We’ve been to the Minnesota Zoo several times and we always find something new to see or do.

It was like there were 152 animals.  There were tons of them.  I liked the monkeys.

I really liked the Minnesota Zoo because I liked the monorail.