Great Things to Do with Kids in Minnesota

Minnesota may be the coldest state in the nation, but be it fair or foul; Minnesota has some terrific amusements for families with kids of all ages! Between Valleyfair, the Mall of America, the Minnesota Zoo and the Metrodome, there is never a lack of interesting things to do.

Valleyfair has been providing good times for families since 1976. Just 35 minutes southwest of Minneapolis/Saint Paul, it makes for a great day trip on a summer day. Whether your children are six or thirty-six, there are rides for all of them at Valleyfair. There are over seventy-five rides and attractions including six roller coasters and an IMAX theater. Entry to Whitewater Country Waterpark is also included with your Valleyfair admission. Feel free to pack a picnic to enjoy in the picnic cove or buy your lunch from the wide selection at the dining patio.

The Mall of America is the second largest shopping mall in North America. (The first being the West Edmonton Mall in Canada.) If shopping is your bag, chances are the Mall of America has the store you are looking for! There is much more to the Mall of America than shopping though! In fact, the Mall of America is the perfect place for the whole family to spend the day. There are restaurants, nightclubs, movie theaters, celebrity appearances and performing artists. Past appearances include such greats as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Artists who have performed at the Mall of America include Mariah Carey, Brittney Spears, and N Sync.

The largest indoor theme park in the United States is Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America. Camp Snoopy is seven acres of indoor fun with over thirty rides to keep the whole family amused for hours on end.

For some aquatic fun, visit the world's largest underground aquarium, Underwater Adventures, also at the Mall of America. Discovery.com voted Underwater Adventures the "World's Best Shark Encounter". You and your children will enjoy the rare opportunity to touch real sharks and stingrays. But if you'd rather not touch, you can still enjoy viewing the 4,500 sea creatures or even take a virtual submarine tour.

Is there a sculptor or builder in your family? They'll love the LEGO Imagination Center at the Mall of America. As well as buying LEGO sets and browsing the terrific LEGO models on display, you and your children can enjoy playing with LEGO bricks. Finally, enough LEGO bricks to build everything you can imagine!

If you have a speed demon in your family, they'll enjoy the Mall of America too! They can visit A.C.E.S. and "fly" in flight simulators of the U.S. Navy's F-18 Hornet jet fighter or the WWII P-51 Mustang. They can even experience aerial combat simulation or see what it's like to land aboard an aircraft carrier. If your speed demon is into land speed, they'll enjoy the NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway as well.

With all of these amusements to enjoy at the Mall of America, cold or rainy days in Minnesota will never put a damper on your and your children's fun!

For a little conservation education with your fun, take your family to the Minnesota Zoo for a full day of zoological fun. The programs and exhibits at the Minnesota Zoo are so much fun that you won't realize you've learned important lessons until it is too late and you come away from the zoo exhausted from the fun and more knowledgeable about the world you live in. Children young and old will enjoy the variety and fun to be found at the Minnesota Zoo.

For the sports fans in the family, a trip to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome is a must. Home of the American League's Minnesota Twins and the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings, there is rarely a time of year when you can't catch a game at the Metrodome.

These are just a few of the many fantastic things that you can do with kids in Minnesota. The land of 10,000 lakes offers much more, including water sports of every kind in the summer and tons of fun on snow and ice in the winter. With such a variety of offerings, you'll never run out of great things to do with your kids in Minnesota.