Saint Paul Museums

(Saint Paul, Minnesota - MN, USA)

Visiting families and tourists with a fascination for American history are certainly catered for when it comes to the museums of St. Paul and its twin city, Minneapolis.

A leading family attraction in downtown St. Paul, the Minnesota Children's Museum resides on the corner of Wabasha Street North and 7th Street / Fort West. Opened since the early 1980s and relocated here in the summer of 1995, this fun venue provides an environment where youngsters can let off steam by climbing, splashing, pulling, pushing and generally playing.

The downtown Minnesota History Center is dedicated to the past history and heritage of the state. Both a cultural attraction in its own right and a library, the center serves as the Minnesota Historical Society's headquarters and has occupied this purpose-built building since 1992. Before this, the society was housed in the Minnesota Judicial Center, and before that, in the State Capitol Building's basement.

Other worthwhile attractions of this nature within St. Paul include the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Goldstein Museum of Design and the Alexander Ramsey House, which is filled with antique furniture and period artifacts. Containing the Jackson Street Roundhouse and run by the Minnesota Historical Society, the Minnesota Transportation Museum suits all ages and is often abbreviated to 'MTM'. It stands along Pennsylvania Avenue East, on the northern side of downtown St. Paul, part-way between the Valley Playground and the Oakland Cemetery.

Minnesota Children's Museum

Address: 10 West 7th Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota (MN), 55102, USA
Tel: +1 651 225 6000
The stimulating environment and exhibits at the Minnesota Children's Museum have been designed to be highly interactive and innovative. The imaginative environments within Earth World include the creeping and crawling at Habitot, the role play activities at Our World, the bubbles and splashing at World Works, and the painting activities at the Rooftop ArtPark, where views over the downtown district are a particular treat.
Open hours: Tuesday to Thursday - 09:00 to 16:00, Friday and Saturday - 09:00 to 20:00, Sunday - 09:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge, children under one year are free

Science Museum of Minnesota

Address: 120 West Kellogg Boulevard, Saint Paul, Minnesota (MN), 55102, USA
Tel: +1 651 221 9444
Standing close to the Upper Landing Park and the St. Paul RiverCenter, the Science Museum of Minnesota enjoys views across the Mississippi River and is very much geared towards families. The science center was founded in 1907 and is today home to a series of galleries that are themed as the Human Body, Experiment, Collections, the Mississippi River, the Big Back Yard and Science Buzz. There is also a Dinosaurs and Fossils Gallery, where fossilized skeletons of a triceratops and a diplodocus are major attractions, being photographed hundreds of times each week.
Open hours: Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday - 09:30 to 17:00, Thursday to Saturday - 09:30 to 21:00
Admission: charge, discounts available for seniors and children

Minnesota History Center

Address: 345 West Kellogg Boulevard, Saint Paul, Minnesota (MN), 55102, USA
Tel: +1 651 259 3000
The Minnesota History Center is organized as two large wings, which stretch outwards from a central rotunda / dome area. Exhibits include old books, maps, drawings, prints, paintings, photos and documents, as well as newspapers and changing temporary objects of historical interest. Of note, many local events, conferences, lectures and receptions are hosted here during the course of the year.
Open hours: Tuesday - 10:00 to 20:00, Wednesday to Saturday - 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday - 12:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge, discounts available for seniors, students and children, children five years old and under are free, free each Tuesday - 17:00 to 20:00

Goldstein Museum of Design

Address: 364 McNeal Hall, University of Minnesota, 1985 Buford Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota (MN), 55108, USA
Tel: +1 612 624 7801
Founded in the late 1970s and situated within McNeal Hall, on the northwestern corner of the University of Minnesota, the Goldstein Museum of Design remembers the lives of sisters Harriet and Vetta Goldstein, who once taught at the university for several decades in the first half of the 20th century. The sisters' book 'Art in Everyday Life' was published in 1925 to great acclaim and stressed the importance of design in everyday life. Visitors will be able to see all kinds of examples of design, including stylish fashion items created by the likes of Christian Dior, Coco Chanel and Isaac Mizrahi.
Open hours: McNeal Gallery, Tuesday to Friday - 10:00 to 17:00, Saturday and Sunday - 13:30 to 16:30; HGA Gallery, Monday to Friday - 09:00 to 18:00, Saturday - 13:00 to 17:00
Admission: free

Schubert Club Museum of Musical Instruments

Address: 2nd Floor, Landmark Center, 75 West 5th Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota (MN), 55102, USA
Tel: +1 651 292 3267
The Schubert Club Museum of Musical Instruments is housed within the historic Landmark Center, which was built on West 5th Street in 1902 and functions as the Court House, the Customs House and also the US Post Office. This 'club' was established in the early 1880s to promote music and local recitals, and today displays a large collection of old musical instruments, such as clavichords, harpsichords and antique pianos. There are also brass, wind and string instruments forming the Kugler Collection, and themed documents, sheet music and memorabilia relating to famous classical composers within the Gilman Ordway Manuscript Collection.
Open hours: Sunday to Friday - 12:00 to 16:00
Admission: free

Alexander Ramsey House

Address: 265 South Exchange Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota (MN), 55102, USA
Tel: +1 651 296 8760
This Victorian home shows how family life was lived in the city during the 1870s. Located within the Irvine Park Historic District, the house itself was constructed from 1868 to 1872 for one Alexander Ramsey (1815 to 1903), who served as the very first governor of the Minnesota territory between the years of 1849 and 1853. The last member of the Ramsey family living here died in 1964, after which the house (and the majority of its contents) was taken over by the Minnesota Historical Society and preserved for future generations to enjoy.
Open hours: seasonal events
Admission: charge, varies by program

Minnesota Transportation Museum

Address: 193 Pennsylvania Avenue East, Saint Paul, Minnesota (MN), 55130, USA
Tel: +1 651 228 0263
This institution began its life in the early 1960s, when it was formed to save a historic streetcar that was once a part of the Twin City Rapid Transit system. There are also a number of vintage buses and beautiful old steam locomotives on display at the Minnesota Transportation Museum, with the possibility of train rides along a section of the old Canadian Pacific Railway line being another good reason to visit.
Open hours: Wednesday and Saturday - 10:00 to 16:00, Sunday - 12:00 to 16:00
Admission: charge, discounts available for seniors, students and children, children one year old and under are free

Twin City Model Railroad Museum

Address: 1021 Bandana Boulevard East, Saint Paul, Minnesota (MN), 55108, USA
Tel: +1 651 647 9628
Offering something for miniature railway enthusiasts everywhere, the Twin City Model Railroad Museum has its origins in the 1930s and contains many truly realistic scale recreations of scenery around Minnesota. Look out for the trains running past the St. Anthony Falls Milling District and its Washburn 'A' Mill, along the banks of the Mississippi River, or over the Great Northern Stone Arch Bridge. There is also a circus train, complete with cages of animals onboard its colorful wagons. You can also learn all about the North Coast Limited and Northern Pacific Railway, which operated between the years of 1900 and 1929.
Open hours: Tuesday to Friday - 10:00 to 15:00, Saturday - 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday - 12:00 to 17:00
Admission: charge, children four years old and under are free