One of Mark and my goals in homeschooling is to make our kid’s learning as hands-on and applicable as possible. We want our kid’s classroom to be the world they live in, experiencing everything first hand as much as possible. The Minnesota Children’s Museum accomplishes all of these with ease! The Children’s Museum is very homeschool friendly from the discounts they give homeschool families through the year to each of the hands-on learning rooms they provide. My sister Emily and I went to their home school day. At registration we were able to sign up for a discount card we will be able to use throughout the year for a discounted rate each time we go to the museum. I had no idea what to expect, honestly I was hesitant. Hesitant to battle the crowds, lines, kid attitudes, and everything that goes into a field trip. The crowds were manageable, the kids were engaged, excited, and learned about the world around them.
Our first stop was to the River Systems Room. When we walked in the first thing we saw was a water table. Anything with water is always an automatic magnet for my kid’s. A water table my kid’s can touch is automatically even more awesome! The water table simulated river systems. Allowing them hands-on experience channeling the water in different directions to experience the importance of our locks and dams. They got to “steer” a tugboat safely into port as well as toot it’s horn.
The next stop was the World Works an area that encourages exploration with a shadow box, water play, manual crane, marble run, large building block area, and more water tables. The other rooms invited the kids to enter into an ants world, doctors world, bus driver, grocery store, restaurant, and musician. Naomi’s favorite play station was the paint yourself face painting station.
There is not an area of exploration the Minnesota Children’s Museum has not thought of. It is well worth the crowds, the price, and we look forward to going back this winter when cabin fever has us at our witsend. If we lived closer we would go even more frequently. It is truly a Friday Fun day Field Trip! Check out their website for more information!