Give a Gift of Play this Holiday Season! Donate Today
Give a Gift of Play this Holiday Season! Donate Today
The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota is all about hands-on play and unique programs and events. Read below to learn more about what is happening in the Museum galleries. If you would like the Museum’s upcoming events delivered to your email address, click here to sign up for our mailing list!
The Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota reserves the right to change the programming plans. Please watch this website and Facebook page for updates.
Museum is open on Monday, December 31, 9 am – 3 pm
Closed on Christmas Eve (12/24), Christmas Day (12/25), and New Year’s Day (1/1).
Check out the new fall hours here!
Looking for more Loft explorations? It’s open more often this Fall. Check it out!
On Mankato Area Public Schools no-school days, make your way to Cecil’s Imagineering Loft and see what we’ve planned!
These drop-in activities are developed for children ages 6 and up and their adults and are included with daily admission or Museum membership.
Winter Break, December 26 – 31
10 am – 12 pm & 1 – 3 pm
Getting Ready for the New Year – Spend your winter break at the Museum and climb into the Loft to work on ball drop creations! Design balls, zip lines, and pulleys and start celebrating the upcoming new year early.
New Year’s Eve: Make a wish for 2019! Create a celebration streamer with a wish for the new year, then join us at the wind tunnel at 10 am, 12 pm, and 2 pm to celebrate and send your streamer up in the air.
The Museum will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day, but open on New Year’s Eve from 9 am – 3 pm.
Monday, December 31
10 am, 12 pm, 2 pm
Museum is open from 9 am – 3 pm
Create a celebration streamer with a wish for the new year, then join us at the wind tunnel at 10 am, 12 pm, and 2 pm to celebrate and send your streamer up in the air.
From 10 am – 12 pm & 1 – 3 pm, STEAM in the Loft will be all about zip lines, pulleys, and ball drops. Check it out!
Saturday, December 8
7 am – 9 am
Santa returns to the Children’s Museum!
Come hang out with the most-wanted guest from the North Pole! Eat a delicious breakfast, explore the Museum’s exhibits, and participate in winter-themed activities. Of course, don’t forget all the photos you can take!
$9 per member
$13 per non-member*
* Non-member ticket includes admission to the Museum after 9:00 am. Come explore our seasonal exhibit, A Northwoods Winter…
Admission to the event, as well as the Museum, is free of charge for children 12 months and under.
Ag on the Move
Through the month of December
Come check out all that moves, that is related to agriculture. Ag on the Move provides hands-on experience with trucks, trailers, and tools that relate to what children can see on the roads, rails, and farms in our region. I this exhibit, visitors can drive trucks, manipulate farm animals, and learn about how food gets to our tables. This exhibit was funded and supported by a grant from the Minnesota Agricultural Education Leadership Council, Capstone, Protolabs, and Cornstalk.
Wednesdays, 10:00 am
Please arrive early to reserve your spot.
December 5
Parachute Play
December 12
Light Play
December 19
Music
December 26
Wild Card!
NEW Loft Hours!
Thursdays, 3:00 – 7:00 pm
Fridays, 3:00 – 5 pm
Saturdays, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm & 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Sundays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
The Museum will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Years Day, but open on New Year’s Eve from 9 am – 3 pm.
December 6 – 9
Snow Forts and Sculptures – Let’s build for LEGO friends!
December 13 – 16
Tinkering Workshop – We’ll tinker with found and familiar objects and materials to make things to help us celebrate the season.
December 20 – 23
Winter Solstice – Do you know that December 21 is the Winter Solstice, the day of the year with the shortest period of sunlight. To shed some light on this occasion, we’ll be making lanterns in the Loft.
December 27 – 31
No-School Day Programming: Winter Break
Read more here.
Available daily, Tuesday through Sunday, in the Kato Engineering Explorers’ Lab
December 4 – 9
Balancing – Try balancing flat wooden shapes and pieces on different types of fulcrums. Can you find the balance point?
December 11 – 16
Sorting – Sort colorful plastics by shape, size, or color.
December 18 – 23
Stamping – Use found objects to stamp snowflakes, snow people, and snowy places.
December 26 – 31
Magnets – Test different objects sand see if they are magnetic.
Saturdays, 3:00 pm
September 15 & November 17 2018
January 18 & April 20, 2019
Join Mankato Symphony Orchestra at the Children’s Museum for Viva Vivaldi, a series of four shows designed to introduce children to the delights of classical music. The show will be performed on Saturday afternoons and will feature musicians, actors, storytelling, and musical activities. Come to the Museum an hour ahead of the performance and play at no cost!
Mark your calendars for September 15 and November 17, 2018 and January 19 and April 20 of next year.
During the week of each Family Series show, join us at the Museum for a special program, Igniting STEM Learning Through the InterPLAY of Music-Science-Math, funded by the Xcel Energy Foundation. This program is included with daily admission or Museum membership.
Wednesdays, 2:00 – 3:00 pm
The North Mankato Taylor Library Bookmobile will stop at the Museum every Wednesday from 2:00 – 3:00 pm. Check out some new materials, or return any area library books. During the Bookmobile’s visit, Amy will come into the Museum for a storytime in one of the galleries.
Thursdays, 12:30 – 2:30 pm
New mothers and mothers-to-be interested in breastfeeding are encouraged to visit the Mankato Area Baby Café. Baby Café is a national network of breastfeeding drop-ins, combining breastfeeding information with a relaxed, informal environment where mothers can chat and learn about breastfeeding from skilled practitioners and each other. Mankato Area Baby Café is made possible by Mayo Clinic Health System.
For more information, call 507.594.2967.