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Best Days of the Bakken: Free Museum Admission July 22 – 26

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bakkenbestdays

Admission to the Bakken Museum is FREE this week from Tuesday, July 22 to Saturday, July 26 for the Best Days of the Bakken! The Bakken is open its regular hours (10:00 – 5:00 T, W, F, & S and 10:00 – 8:00 Th) but hours of free programming each day are 11:00 to 4:00.

We visited the Bakken Museum a couple months ago for their free second Saturday event. We had fun exploring their theme in May: Wind and Weather!

Our kids enjoyed making wind turbines and kites.

[Read more…]

A Frugal and Fun End-of-Summer Week in the Twin Cities

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I can’t believe kids are already starting school next week! Where did summer go?

My oldest, Heidi, starts kindergarten next Tuesday, and she’s so excited! I’m not sure how I feel. I’m thrilled that she’ll learning a lot and making new friends, but I know I’ll miss having her at home during the day. I know her little brother Thor will miss her, too!

Since this is her final week before starting school, we’re hoping to fill the week with lots of fun and frugal activities.

For those of you whose kids don’t start school for another week, here’s a list I came up with of fun things to do with your family during this last week of summer vacation, taking the hot weather forecast into consideration:

(THE HOTTEST DAYS OF THE WEEK ARE MONDAY AND TUESDAY. Weather forecast obtained from Kare11.com.)

MONDAY, AUGUST 26
(High – 98 degrees; record heat possible)

Como Zoo and Beach/Pool Day

Head to the zoo early (as many know, Como Zoo is free but they ask for donations). Spend a few hours enjoying the zoo including the newer Gorilla Forest and renovated Japanese Garden.

comozoostorytime
ALSO – today they offer story time featuring plants and animals at 1:30pm in the Visitor Center!

We just went to the Como Zoo last Wednesday which was super hot, but there were also NO crowds. We got a parking space in the lot right by the entrance! The kids enjoyed the carousel ($2.00 per person), and then we enjoyed lots of ice cream and breaks inside the cooler buildings.

After the zoo, visit a park with a beach, head for a wading pool (Minneapolis has 65!), or visit a community pool. Either way, the hot afternoon is a good time to just lounge around and cool off in the water!

burgerkingcones

TIP: Burger King offer $.50 ice cream cones through September 1st. Pick some up for the family while you’re out and about! We’ve gone there several times this summer for ice cream, and we love that they’ve always been so nice and helpful – offering to put them in cups for us with spoons and giving us lots of napkins!

TUESDAY, AUGUST 27

(High – 97 degrees and sunny; humid) [Read more…]

Eagle’s Nest Indoor Playground in New Brighton

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What: Eagle’s Nest Indoor Playground
Where: New Brighton Community Center, 400 – 10th St. NW, New Brighton, MN 55112.
How much: $5.50 daily admission for children ages 12 months to 12 years. $3.00 after 6:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. No charge for parents or caregivers. Youth punch pass for $55.00 includes 12 passes for the price of 10.
Extras: Birthday parties are an affordable option here with packages as low as $9.00 per child. Check out website for hours and more information.
Mom Rating: Fun place to take the kids any time of year!

If you’re looking for a great place to take your kids for a couple of hours of fun on a cold or rainy day, one great, affordable place is the Eagle’s Nest Indoor Playground in New Brighton.

It’s a playland with tunnels, slides, a ball pit & a climbing wall, all created for kids under 12 years old. There’s a special area for toddlers (under 3 years old) with plenty of smaller structures to play in, a slide, a ball pit, and a reading corner with books (though it’s hard to sit kids down in this place!).

There are tables for adults and families to sit together and have a meal (there are 3 vending machines with snacks and ice cream). In addition, there are chairs right within the play areas so parents can be right there with their kids. You’ll find plenty of open cubbies to put shoes and jackets, and there are lockers you can use (locks are available to borrow).

I took my kids there twice recently and they had a blast. My 4-year-old enjoyed going through all the tunnels and down the slides, and my 1-year-old loved the toddler area and all the balls he could play with. We spent 2 hours here our first time, and over 1 hour here our second time. They burned off a lot of hanging-out-in-the-house-too-much-in-the-winter energy and had great fun.

The only thing I don’t like is that there is no simple, open way to access the slides. I once climbed up through the tunnels with my daughter to go down one of the slides and have to say, though I’m average-sized, it was not easy! Kids have to climb in narrow spaces and through tunnels with not-the-best air circulation to access anything above, including fun lookouts (one like a plane cockpit) and the various tunnel and wavy slides. Though adults can play with their kids here, I’m guessing it’s designed this way partially so not too many adults clutter up the space! (Hey – we like to have fun, too!)

But overall, it’s a great place to take your kids – whether as a mom home during the day with restless kiddos, or as a family for a “picnic” and playday.

Oh -and on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00am to Noon your child’s admission includes playtime in the gym nearby with a bouncy house and other activities. Have fun!