Bell Museum of Natural History

So glad I stopped in to explore the Bell Museum during my travels on Friday morning.
My first visit at its new location on the edge of the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus that opened in July of 2018 (I know, better late than never). The exhibits are quite exceptional.
With its relocation from Minneapolis, the museum was expanded significantly to include a planetarium, education wing, and touch & see lab. The landscaping was also upgraded with sustainable native plants, a geology area, and a solar station.
The best part was watching the staff and volunteers in action sharing their knowledge with excited kids who showed up with parents, grandparents and school teachers.
Made me smile big time.
“If you have knowledge, let others light their candles to it.” ~ Margaret Fuller

Bell Museum is a pretty chill spot! definitely underrated! If you’re into nature, space, or just cool stuff in general, you’ll vibe with this place. They’ve got neat exhibits about Minnesota wildlife, plus a sweet planetarium that’s honestly mind-blowing. Staff’s friendly and laid-back, happy to nerd out with you if you’re curious. Bonus points for being Insta-worthy—tons of photo ops here. It’s not massive, so it’s perfect for a casual visit without overwhelming you. Parking’s usually easy, too. Totally worth checking out, especially if you’re bored of typical museum vibes.

I went there when there was an October star party, we looked through high-powered telescopes at astronomical objects (I saw comets and Venus!)

Will update my review later when I back to visit the Museum again!

Great natural history museum! The exhibits were awesome to see. I especially enjoyed the fossils and collections in the Touch & See Lab and their wildlife dioramas upstairs. I really loved that many exhibits focused on Minnesota’s natural history—it’s always great to learn more about our state. On top of their other exhibits, the Bell Museum features a planetarium where they play educational shows throughout the day. We saw the “Supervolcanoes” show during our visit and it was really neat to watch on the domed screen. The building itself is also very interesting architecturally and fun to be in.

I enjoyed the museum as an adult but I’m sure this would also be a fun trip for families—in particular, I’m sure kids would get a kick out of the animals and digital microscopes in the Touch & See Lab. Overall, I definitely recommend paying a visit to the Bell Museum!

We got married at the Bell Museum in August 2023 and it was even better than I could have imagined!! The museum itself is absolutely beautiful and the layout naturally works very well for a wedding. The price is very reasonable for what you get, essentially access to the entire museum for the duration of the evening. There also lots of really great add ons to connect your guests more to the museum experience including planetarium shows, stargazing, and an animal lab. We got such amazing feedback from our guests and they still talk about how fun it was to have so many things to do there during the reception – also great for entertaining kids! The museum itself is all you need for all parts of the wedding which is great to not worry about weather, but if it is nice outside they do have a really pretty outdoor area as well to walk and take pictures in. In addition the Bell museum staff were wonderful – they were extremely communicative, organized, and kind, both the planning process and day-of events went incredibly smoothly. I cannot recommend this venue highly enough, 10/10!

This place is great and super fun for kids! They offer free tickets for students, and there’s a lab where students can have an amazing hands-on experience. The store is fantastic, and I think it’s actually a lot of fun for adults too. We attended the sky show while it was just okay in my opinion, it could be really enjoyable for those interested in that kind of thing. Love this place and highly recommended.

Had a great visit recently with family, including two kids. The interactive section of the museum just off the lobby is GREAT for kids. I personally loved the permanent exhibit upstairs. I hope to make it back without kids so I can fully explore the offering.

One downside is the cost of parking. I mean common on (!): the museum is literally surrounded by open fields. To expect people to pay for parking and admission is too much. The parking fee should be waived for folks visiting the museum.

Interactive and excellent Museum and Planetarium to spend 2-3 hours exploring. Many exhibits featuring the natural history of Minnesota, animal artifiacts and education of our wildlife here. There is also exhibits on space and astronomy. The planetarium is spacious and various shows playing throughout the day, and I definitely recommend. It is not a large museum, but it is beautiful. The museum has a fair price and ample parking. Definitely recommend!

Love the planetarium shows! Staff knowledgeable. Exhibits fun to explore. I work with adults on the intellectual spectrum and the museum is roomy for wheelchairs to get around. Fun to touch animal pelts, museum staff helped to describe so we could guess what animal it was. Staff even grabbed a kangaroo pelt from a closet as a client guessed that after giving us a clue. Felt she went above and beyond.