1. First stop by The Saint Paul Farmers Market located conveniently in downtown Saint Paul. It’s a great place to take in the local flavors with their selection of 100% locally grown produce, flowers and freshly made foods that will be sure you excite your morning taste buds. Make sure you get there in the morning because it’s only open Sat. and Sun. 6am-1pm.
290 5th St. East Saint Paul, MN 55101
2. Next, walk four minutes west to Rice Park and enjoy all of your farmers market treats. The park offers a relaxing haven of green space amongst the downtown landscape. Rice Park also highlights several statues from Peanuts’ characters to F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Source by Alonzo Hauser, the popular fountain located in the center of Rice Park. Toss in your penny and make a wish! 10 7th St. West Saint. Paul, MN 55012
I have yet to meet a four-year-old who enjoys standing in line. especially in the lobby of our Museum, where there are so many other things to entice them: a whole rack of brochures positioned right at their height, long rows of purple stairs and, of course, the toy store.
To address this challenge, we started a new volunteer position called Funstigators. Funstigators work in the lobby of the Museum, and their job is to play with kids while adults do all the boring (but important!) work of getting tickets.They may b playing with puppets or tossing footballs or letting kids climb inside the giant Hoberman sphere. Since we implemented this simple idea, the stress level in the lobby has greatly reduced. Adults can focus on their business, knowing that their child is within eyesight and having fun.
Minnesota Children's Museum's best stories come from the daily interactions with visitors. "Kids say the darnedest things," as the old chestnut goes. Jessica Turgeon, the director of organizational development and visitor services (and holder of the longest title at the Museum) has worked for the Museum for almost 12 years, starting first as a cashier. She has heard many cute-kid stories in all those days in a purple vest.
With the addition of her "Tales from the Floor" contributions to the Smart Play blog, she will share some of the best "heard-at-the-Museum"s and the inner workings behind the purple vests of the Minnesota Children's Museum visitor assistants. These stories will provide insight into how the staff members and volunteers keep visitors' experiences educational, safe and fun.
Tales from the Floor: Lost Children
Safety is our number one priority at the Museum. One of the most common safety concerns we encounter is reuniting lost children with their adults (or reuniting lost adults with their children!). While this can be a very scary situation for them, it is something we handle literally every single day.
When we are reuniting families, we ask the child (or adult) for a description to help us look for the person who is lost, and then share those descriptions with the staff over our two-way radios. Here are some of our favorite radio calls:
• I am with Caleb and we are looking for his mom. Her name is “mommy” and she looks like an angel.
• I am with Sam, we are looking for his dad. His name is Mike and he has a big head.
• Cancel that search for Keisha’s mom -- mom didn’t come with to the museum today. We are now looking for Keisha’s dad...
• I didn’t find the girl in the pink leopard shirt, but I did find a pink leopard shirt in the Atrium. We are now looking for a three-year-old girl with brown hair and no shirt.
Visiting the Museum? Here are some tips for a safe visit:
• Talk to your child about what to do if they get lost -- anyone in a purple vest can help them
• If your child is old enough, make sure they know your first and last name -- not just “mom” or “dad”
• If you lose your child during your visit, stay calm and find a visitor assistant in a purple vest right away
-Jessica Turgeon, director of organizational development and visitor services
Here's a quick tips list on how to make the most out of a Museum visit. MCM.org is a great resource for helpful info in preparation of your next visit.
• Read before you go
• Learn about what skills (cognitive, large motor) the gallery is intended to develop
• Interact with your child
• Encourage your child to interact/work together with other families
• Continue the learning at home through book lists
Are you looking to get the most of your Museum visit? Read these helpful tips and stay tuned for more suggestions on how to get most play out of your day.
1. Encourage your children to focus on one of the small subsections of a gallery. These thematic sections have a number of activities to interest a variety of ages.
2. If you have more than on child, visit the Museum with a friend or relative and divide the children into two age groups. Each group can visit the areas of greatest interest to them.
3. Look for red-vested volunteers throughout the galleries. These people have special activities that can be personalized to appeal to each of your children.
Whether you're a first time visitor or a weekly attender, you should know about these helpful tips!
- Stay late on Friday Family Fun Nights - we keep the fun going until 8 p.m. with special Friday night programming like Family Arts and an extra Big Fun!
- Lighten your load by leaving your coats, hats, etc. in the car if you use the parking ramp and skyway. If you decide to bring in your seasonal clothing, we do have a coat room and lockers for rent.
- Take advantage of affordable and convenient parking. Pick up a $3 coupon at the Box Office when you check in. It's good for up to three hours of parking at the World Trade Center ramp.
- Visit Habitot Tuesdays (1st, 3rd, 5th, Tuesday of the month) as no school groups are scheduled this day.
- Consider leaving your stroller in the car during busy days (like Target Free 3rd Sunday). Our hallways and galleries can get congested with large amounts of strollers.
