Science Museum Of Minnesota

I’ve been aware of the Science Museum Of Minnesota since moving to the state in 2016. Being a fan of science museums, I casually added it to my “places to visit” list, but never made my way over. . . . until now. Thanks to the suggestion from Russ and an open weekend, we made the trip.

The Science Museum was founded in 1907 and currently sits on the banks of the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The museum has 370,000 square feet of space, including a 10,000 square-foot temporary exhibit gallery, multiple permanent galleries, zero-emissions Science Hours and an IMAX Convertible Dome Omnitheater.

Permanent exhibits at the museum include the Collectors’ Corner, Dinosaurs & Fossils Gallery, Experiment Gallery, Giant Astronaut, Human Body Gallery, Light Gallery, Math Moves, Mississippi River Gallery, RACE: Are We So Different?, Sportsology, We Move and We Stay, Weighing the Evidence and Wonder Years. There were also a few temporary exhibits during our visit including Ultimate Dinosaurs, Sandhill Crane Community Art and Science Superheroes. Of course, as is the case with other museums, the exhibits are subject to change. Be sure to check the Science Museum Of Minnesota website for the most up to date information before your visit.

Aside from the general exhibits and Omnitheater, the Science Museum Of Minnesota also has a small cafe for guests to buy coffee and food items as well as a gift shop. During our visit, the cafe had a selection of drinks, pastry and sandwiches. However, there were no tables to sit and enjoy those items.

The Basics

For the most part, the Science Museum Of Minnesota is a very hands-on place. While there are a couple of exceptions, nearly every exhibit you’ll find within the museum features something [if not a great deal of things] you’ll need to operate in order to experience. This is great for those who like to learn through experiences and conduct experiments themselves, but it might not be ideal for all visitors. It’s also worth noting that visitors who are apprehensive about spending a bulk of the day touching high touch surfaces may want to reconsider whether or not a visit to the museum is right for them. That said, hand sanitizer was available throughout the museum and some surfaces were being wiped down regularly by museum staff.

As I mentioned above, the Science Museum Of Minnesota has a number of both permanent and temporary exhibits to enjoy during your visit. That said, the most notable exhibits at the museum feature dinosaurs. There are quite a few dinosaur related displays to look at [some permanent, others on display temporarily] featuring some unique dinosaurs we’ve never seen or heard of before. There were also some paleontologists around during our visit sharing their knowledge with visitors who were inside the visit.

Dinosaurs aside, much of what you’ll find at the Science Museum Of Minnesota is what you’d come to expect. There were, however, a few other things that stood out to me. Once such exhibit was Sportsology. This exhibit has a variety of different areas that focus on the science of sports and how the human body works in order to play those sports. This included a few areas where you could be recorded by slow motion cameras, run and try to beat a popular Minnesota team Mascot and see the effects of a concussion on the human brain, among other things. While this was a fairly interesting exhibit, it was also one that we spent the least amount of time in. Not only were we not really prepared to get physical on this particular day, but it was also a very popular exhibit amongst kids. . . . so we moved along and let the little ones have at it!

Another exhibit that stood out to us was the Weighing The Evidence exhibit. This exhibit featured a collection of items based in what they described as “quackery science” from different time periods. From machinery to diet pills, this exhibit was quite interesting, but really left us wanting to know more about what we were looking at.

Not What We Were Expecting

It’s probably worth mentioning, before we get into this next part, that we didn’t have any major expectations for the Science Museum Of Minnesota before our visit. I mean. . . . sure. . . . we wanted to experience some sciencey things and maybe learn something. Who wouldn’t. Still, there wasn’t anything in particular that we were hoping to see or do though. That said, there were a few things at the Science Museum Of Minnesota still threw up for a loop.

The first thing about the Science Museum Of Minnesota that we weren’t expecting was the flow of the museum itself or, more accurately, the complete lack of one. The museum consists of 5 Levels on 3 of which [5, 4 and 3] are exhibits. While there is some loose theming amongst the levels, for the most part, there isn’t much rhyme or reason to where the exhibits are or how they are laid out within that space. This can leave you wondering where to go first and how to move through the exhibits. The lack of flow also doesn’t provide context to what exactly it is you’re looking at or doing. Rather than feeling like there was a story being told or a lesson being learned at the exhibits, it felt a bit more like a collection of fun facts centered around a loose theme.

There were also a few things at the Science Museum Of Minnesota that felt out of place or shoehorned in. An example of this can be found in the Light Gallery located on Level 3. This particular exhibit is about light, how it moves and the colors it creates. Pretty straightforward. However, this exhibit also features a model of the Earth [which changes to the Sun from time to time] displaying weather patterns across the planet. Now, there is an argument to be made that the Sun creates light that shines down on Earth and draw the connection there, it’s a stretch though. In my opinion, it seems like this was put here because it’s one of the darkest places in the museum where the projection would be most visible. Whatever the thought process or reasoning was, it doesn’t feel like it fits or contributes to the exhibit in a meaningful way.

The Science Museum Of Minnesota also had a few other exhibits [or parts of exhibits] that felt somewhat out of place in a science museum as well. This included some areas that leaned heavily into what you might consider political science, socioeconomics and/or current events. While we certainly aren’t opposed to having difficult discussions, these discussions can be very intense especially if you’re not ready for them. This is something, especially if you’re planning a visit with younger ones or those who might be easily upset by discussions of more recent events, may want to be aware of before you visit. Once again, be sure to check the links we’ve put above to see what each exhibit is about in order to get a better idea of what to expect.

Things That We Were Hoping To See

There are a lot of interesting things to see and do at the Science Museum Of Minnesota, but we did find ourselves wanting a bit more. Especially with the giant astronaut, we were a bit disappointed to see a lack of anything space related in the museum. It would have also been interesting to see some sort of science related to electricity, chemistry or industry. Of course, these are some areas that may be represented in the future through temporary exhibits, but they were not present during our visit.

Pricing

The Science Museum of Minnesota is located in Saint Paul, approximately 15 minutes from Minneapolis - Saint Paul International Airport. There is a parking ramp [aka parking structure] on site for those who are arriving via car. Parking in the Science Museum of Minnesota Parking Ramp will cost $5.00 per day.

Pricing for the museum itself costs $19.95 for adults and $14.95 for kids with discounted rates for seniors. There also a discounted income-based access tickets through something called the Great Tix program. This program provides heavily discounted tickets for those who are enrolled in various programs. You can find out more information as to whether or not you quality for the Great Tix program HERE.

The Science Museum of Minnesota also has an Omnitheater where they show a selection of different Omnifilms. These films come at an additional cost ranging from $3 to $9.95 per person.

Unfortunately, the Science Museum of Minnesota does not have a coat check. However, you can rent a locker for anywhere from $2 to $3 for 4 hours. Lockers come in 2 sizes, but it’s important to note that they aren’t the most spacious. . . particularly if you’re visiting during the winter months. We opted for the large locker and found that it was enough to hold our jackets and bags. However, if we were traveling with a larger group or kids, we might have needed an additional locker or simply left things in the car.

Purchasing Admission

At the time of our visit, admission for Science Museum of Minnesota needs to be purchased in advance via their website. This may change in the future, so be sure to check the website for the most up to date information.

It’s Fine. . .

At the end of the day, while we really wanted to love the Science Museum Of Minnesota, the experience turned out to be just alright. The museum itself was fine. The exhibits were fine. That said, I wouldn’t be honest if I said we weren’t underwhelmed by the experience. In fact, once we got to the end, Russ was taken aback by the fact that we were already done. I felt the same way! Like we mentioned above, it would have been nice to see a few more topics covered by the museum and possibly have some presentations [virtual or otherwise] rather than having to rely on what you were reading from plaques on exhibits themselves. We also would have loved some form of map or booklet to guide us through the museum. There was apparently a QR code you could scan at the entrance, but we didn’t go the route of utilizing that.

Overall, while we had a good strolling around the museum, it’s not the type of place we would consider visiting again nor would we recommend it to anyone who might be passing through. Maybe in the future, once things can go back to pre-pandemic norms, our opinion might be different. For now though, the Science Museum Of Minnesota is. . . just alright.