The Twin Cities Museum Guide

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota offer a wide variety of museums. Whether you prefer modern or classic art, science, or children's museums, the Twin Cities will not leave you feeling culturally deprived.

The Minneapolis Institute of Art is located at 2400 Third Avenue South in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is Minneapolis's classic art museum. They recently received a new expansion, the Target Wing, designed by Michael Graves. This museum is a must for travelers. Plan on spending a day or two; it's quite big! The museum has both permanent and touring exhibits. It has a cafe and gift shop and offers tours and lectures. They are open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. The museum is closed on Mondays. Due to the generosity of its members, the admission is free every day. More information can be found on their website: http://www.artsmia.org.

The Walker Art Center is an excellent modern art museum. It is located in Minneapolis,at 725 Vineland Place. Remodeled just recently, the museum is now much bigger and includes a Wolf Gang Puck restaurant. While some of the exhibits may seem to be "too" modern for some, the museum gives a wide variety of what modern art entails. The Walker also offers classes, tours, films, and lectures. Their website is http://www.walkerart.org.
Directly outside of the Walker Art Center, is Minneapolis's famous Sculpture Garden. The Minnesota Sculpture Garden is a must see for Minneapolis tourists. It is located next to the Walker Art Center outdoors. The sculpture garden's most famous exhibit is the Cherry on a spoon, that many will see in ads for Minneapolis. It is huge and impressive when you see it in person. There are many other sculptures made by artists in the garden. The area is landscaped beautifully and the view of downtown Minneapolis from the Garden is outstanding! Nearby you will find many wonderful restaurants, theatres, and other area entertainment. Check out the sculptures and then head across the street to Loring Park.

The Minnesota Children's Museum is located at 10 West Seventh Street in Saint Paul. Their hours are as follows: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday: CLOSED Summer Mondays(Memorial Day through Labor Day only): 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
They are Closed Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Admission is just $7.95 for ages 1-101, and free for children under 1. The museum offers a variety of exhibits for children from ages 6 months to 10 years. They welcome school groups to many exhibits. The museum often features exhibits that are hands on, including exhibits about nature, the earth, etc. It also has exhibits featuring popular cartoon characters, such as a current exhibit about Bob the Builder. This museum is definitely worth a visit if you have small children. It gets them interested in science and museums in general. The website is http://www.mcm.org.

After checking out the Children's Museum, you may want to head over to the Science Museum in Saint Paul. The Science Museum is located at 120 Kellogg Blvd. West. It is open 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday-Wednesday, and 9:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. The Science Museum has fantastic exhibits related to science, including nature exhibits, geographical displays, dinosaur area, and revolving touring exhibits. Recently, the museum featured Bodyworlds, which was highly successful. The museum also houses the Omni Theatre. The Omnitheatre is a theatre that wraps around you and above you, forming a circle of a screen. It starts out as a IMAX screen and converts into an omnitheatre. They show educational films, everything from wild prairies to underwater adventures. The action and movement of these movies are truly fascinating. This theatre is not for the faint of heart, however! If you get motion sickness, you may get sick from the movement on the screen. The nature of the screen's configuration makes you feel like you are moving, too! More information and ticket prices can be found on their website at http://www.smm.org.

Minneapolis and Saint Paul offer many more smaller museums, but the above museums should keep you busy and culturally enlightened while visiting the Twin Cities.