Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota

The Twin Cities may be known more for snow than show, but the fine arts are alive and well in Minnesota.  Next time you’re in Minneapolis-St. Paul, consider a stop at one of these quality art museums.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

This classic art museum, found just south of downtown Minneapolis, features works from Africa, Asia, and the Americas, as well as paintings by the masters and more recent works of art.  Admission to the museum is free, and families will enjoy the monthly Family Days which combine art, music, dance, and craft to portray a theme.

• The Minneapolis Insitute of Arts
  2400 Third Avenue South
  Minneapolis, MN
  888-MIA-ARTS

Walker Art Center

Modern art enthusiasts will find their home at the Walker Art Center, just west of downtown Minneapolis, where even the building itself is modern in design.  Families will enjoy the special programs offered on Free First Saturdays.  Adjacent to the museum, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is home to the famed “Spoonbridge and Cherry” sculpture as well as other outdoor art pieces.

• Walker Art Center
  1750 Hennepin Avenue
  Minneapolis, MN
  612-375-7600

Weisman Art Museum

Found on the banks of the Mississippi River on the campus of the University of Minnesota, the recently re-0pened Weisman Art Museum is as well-known for its Frank Gehry-designed building as for its art space inside.  Art ranging from ancient to modern finds its home at this museum, which features free admission.

• Weisman Art Museum
  333 East River Road
  Minneapolis, MN
  612-625-9494

The Museum of Russian Art

Russian art of various media and time period is featured at this museum in South Minneapolis just off I-35W.  It is the only museum in North America dedicated solely to the collection and preservation of Russian art and artifacts.

• The Museum of Russian Art
  5500 Stevens Avenue South
  Minneapolis, MN
  612-821-9075

The Minnesota Museum of American Art

Though this museum is currently homeless, its collection is still being presented to the public in a series of traveling exhibitions throughout the state.  Highlights include works by Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton in the current “Treasures” exhibition that is moving around the state.

• The Minnesota Museum of American Art
  651-797-4057

No matter what type of art you enjoy, you’ll find something you like in the various art museums in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.  Which is your favorite?

Photo credit:  the author

Linda (minnemom) writes about family travel at Travels with Children.

There’s something breathtaking about the view from up high, where you can see for miles on a clear day.  Old or new, towering wonders in the United States still draw visitors by the thousands who want to rise to new heights and see the view from the top.  Mountains and other natural landmarks offer lofty views if you can make it to the summit.  For some unexplained reason, I’ve been to a bunch of these high places despite my fear of heights.  Smart or not, here they are.

1. The Infinity Room, House on the Rock, Spring Green, WI. Though only 156 feet off the ground, the House on the Rock’s Infinity Room extends 218 feet outward into a point with nothing holding it up.  I don’t care that all sorts of engineering and science say it’s safe, I could only go about two steps into the room before scrambling back to solid ground.  Some people go all the way to the point and take dramatic photographs.  Not me.  I bought a postcard to prove that I’d been there.
2. Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh. This one’s a bit odd, because my feet were actually on solid ground when I forced my husband to take our photos from the top of the Duquesne Incline.  Maybe it’s because we’d just gone 400 feet up on a train system built in 1877, and the fact that we were on the edge of a bluff was very apparent.  Nice old-fashioned ride, nice views of downtown Pittsburgh, very scary observation deck.
3. Foshay Tower, Minneapolis. Once the tallest building in Minneapolis, and still the highest observation deck in town, the Foshay’s outdoor viewing area offers a beautiful view of the Twin Cities.  The high walls and fence along the edge helped me to feel somewhat secure as I got my birds-eye view of Minnesota from 447 feet up.
4. Space Needle, Seattle. My parents took me to this Seattle landmark back in 1984; apparently the thought of being 520 feet in the air, on a big sphere settled on a stick, didn’t bother me as much when I was a kid as it does now.  Perhaps I could still stomach a visit to the 500-foot-high revolving restaurant, but I wouldn’t be asking for a window seat.
5. Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. At 555 feet, 5 1/8 inches tall, the night view of Washington, D.C. was spectacular, but I also recall tight spaces on the way up.  The monument is now closed, at least for the time being, due to earthquake damage, so maybe now’s the time to take my family to D.C. so I have an excuse not to go up again. Get your mom’s heart racing with these thrilling DC Mother’s Day gift ideas.
6. Gateway Arch, St. Louis. The most recognizable icon of the St. Louis skyline is also kind of bad for people with various phobias:  the entrance and museum are underground, the pods that transport visitors to the top are creaky and rather claustrophic, and once you’re to the 630-foot top, you can feel the whole thing swaying in the wind.  When I got up enough nerve to go with my husband and kids, we went up, looked outside quickly, snapped the requisite “we were here” photos, and got back down to solid ground as quickly as possible.
7. Hancock Tower, Chicago. Though “only” 1000 feet high, to get there you’ll use one of the fastest elevators in North America, and once at the top, you can step out on to the open-air deck, which is safely fenced in, but still . . .  If my family drags me back there again, you’ll find me in the coffee shop, safely set back from the windows.  I’ll take my view of four states from a distance, thank you very much.
8. Empire State Building, New York City.  I haven’t been here since shortly after I bought Sleepless in Seattle on VHS, so maybe I can blame it on youth that I braved both the lines and the elevators to reach the 1050-foot-high 86th floor, at night, no less, and made a complete circuit around the outdoor observation deck.  Now tourists can pay an extra $15 and go to the 1250-foot 102nd floor and claim that they’ve been to the highest point that tourists can go to in Manhattan.  I think I’ll save my money.
9. Chicago’s Skydeck in the Willis Tower (perhaps better known by its former name, the Sears Tower).  From the observation deck on the 103rd floor, it’s 1353 feet to the ground, and now that they have the Ledges, little glass-bottomed alcoves that jut out four feet from the rest of the building, I don’t think I’ll be going back.  It’s one thing to look out and see miles and miles of countryside, but to look straight down?  It’s not something you’ll catch me doing.
10. Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs, Colorado.  At 14,110 feet (or 14,115 depending on whom you’re talking to), I’m pretty sure this is the biggest “What was I thinking?” high-up place I’ve been.  Fortunately, it was raining by the time we reached the top, so we spent most of our time at the summit in the relative safety of the gift shop.  Otherwise, I would have been the crazy mother running around trying to hold four children’s hands at once to be sure they didn’t fall off the mountain.

Bonus:  Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska.  At a mere 800 feet above the surrounding prairie, I thought I could handle Scotts Bluff.  At the top, however, even my husband was surprised to see that the trails run rather close to the edge without benefit of a railing of any sort to save clumsy people from certain doom if they’d happen to trip and fall.  I WAS the crazy mother hanging on to hands and shrieking at my kids to keep to the inside of the trail at Scotts Bluff.  But I did allow them to sit on the bench for just a second so that I could get this photo as proof that I’ve allowed them to do something big and scary in their lives despite my own fear of heights.

View from the top of Scotts Bluff National Monument

Oh, and if you want to go somewhere really scary, try western North Dakota’s Fairview Lift Bridge.  It’s only 80 feet or so above the water, but it’s a railroad bridge that was used simultaneously as an automobile bridge for many years.  And if that’s not scary enough, there’s a curved tunnel at the eastern end that is completely dark in the middle, and there are signs warning of rattlesnakes in the area.  Needless to say, I didn’t make it far across this one.

A few years ago, our family decided to go to Mall of America. On a Saturday. Which happened to be Valentine’s Day.  Let me tell you this:  it was a very popular place to be!

In 2011, with Valentine’s Day falling on a Monday, couples may decide to celebrate on the weekend or on February 14, and Mall of America will be a popular destination as always.

These are some special Valentine’s Day specials happening at Mall of America this year: Read More »

Here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, finding a spot in the great outdoors isn’t usually too difficult.  From neighborhood playgrounds to state parks to cross-country trails of all sorts, Minnesota is known for providing outdoor opportunities.

The one wrinkle in all of this, though, is winter.  Sure, some people thrive on winter sports.  Pond hockey and skiing and snowshoeing and snowmobiling are great winter activities on the days when the weather isn’t so frightful.  But for parents of little kids, with day after day of below-zero temps, it can be a bit of a challenge to get any outdoor recreation time.

So what’s a parent to do, short of heading to a mall play area or Chuck E Cheese to let the little ones run off some energy?

The answer for many is Edinborough Park.  This unique park is complete with plants and trees, walking paths, an amphitheater with concerts, a swimming pool, and plenty of places for kids to run and jump and play.  And it’s all indoors.

That’s right, there’s an indoor park in Edina, Minnesota.  With its glass ceiling you can see what the weather is doing outside, but you’ll be enjoying climate-controlled comfort while your tots play to their hearts’ content.  What will they do first?  Climb and slide through Adventure Peak, a super-sized McDonald’s-playland type structure, complete with bounce house?  Or explore the Great Hall, where balls and other fun things are provided as they tear around the gym?

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