If you have little train lovers in your life, you’ll want to add this to your calendar: Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails is officially back at Minnesota Children’s Museum, and it has rolled into St. Paul with tons of hands-on fun.

This interactive exhibit has been a favorite in the past (we loved it when we visited years ago), and it’s exciting to see it return—reimagined and packed with playful learning experiences designed especially for kids ages 2–7.

**What Is Thomas & Friends™: Explore the Rails?**

Inspired by the beloved Thomas & Friends™ series, this exhibit invites kids to step right onto the Island of Sodor and learn through imaginative, open-ended play. It’s designed to build early STEM skills, problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity—all while having a blast with familiar characters.

From the moment you enter, you’re surrounded by iconic locations like Knapford Station and Sodor Steamworks, with Thomas, Percy, and friends cheering kids on as they tackle challenges big and small.

(In this post I have pictures from this exhibit in the past)

What Kids Can Do Inside the Exhibit

There’s truly something for every little engineer:

Climb into Thomas’ cab to explore how the engine works, flip levers, and trigger whistles, brakes, and steam sounds
Fix Percy’s wobbly wheel by testing different combinations of wheels, rods, and bolts
Build and complete train tracks using pieces with varying elevations to solve engineering challenges
Explore Island of Sodor destinations like Tidmouth Sheds, Brendam Docks, and the Sodor Search & Rescue Station on an oversized wooden train table
Load luggage, livestock, and freight into train cars while working together with other visitors
Help Percy get moving by loading coal and filling his water tank
Dress up as the conductor to sell tickets and exchange money with passengers

There’s also a special Thomas & Friends retrospective that adults will appreciate, featuring original model engines, early drawings and manuscripts from creator Rev. W. Awdry, and memorabilia that showcases how Thomas has evolved through books, television, and toys over the decades.

Designed for Playful Learning

This exhibit was designed and developed by Minnesota Children’s Museum in partnership with Mattel, Inc., with Fisher-Price as the presenting sponsor. Every activity is thoughtfully created to support early learning while still feeling like pure fun.

Dates & Details

Location: Minnesota Children’s Museum, St. Paul
Dates: Saturday, January 17th – Sunday, May 10th, 2026

How to Save at the Minnesota Children’s Museum

Admission is regularly $19.95 per person ages 1-101 if you buy in person. It’s regularly $17.95 online.

Exclusive Discount for My Followers

As part of my partnership with Minnesota Children’s Museum, I’m excited to share an exclusive discount code just for you:

Use code TCFM for:

$3 off the in-person price per ticket, or
$30 off a museum membership (the best deal if you plan to visit more than once!)

More ways to save:

Get FREE admission on the first Sunday of the month thanks to Securian Financial. You must make a reservation in advance though (these fill up fast!).

Pay only $3 per ticket if you qualify based on EBT, WIC or other assistance. Read about their All Play Tickets here.
Save $2 per ticket if you have a AAA membership, are active duty military, are a senior age 65 or older, are a MERSC employee, or are an educator. Learn more here.
Save 50% on admission if you have a membership to another ACM children’s museum, or an ASTC reciprocal museum. Learn more here.

This is such a fun, engaging way to spend a day—especially during colder months—and a great opportunity to experience a classic exhibit that continues to delight a new generation of Thomas fans.

If you go, I’d love to hear what your kids think!