Minnesota History Center

Omg!! This place was amazing 👏! So rich and detailed. It was such a wonderful experience. I even saw 1 of my cousins pictured in an article!

The staff was so friendly and helpful.
Kate in the giftshop was 👌 awesome.
Shawn, the historian and one of the guides, was phenomenal!! His history and knowledge made me admire Minnesota. I would come back just to hear him explain an exhibit anytime!

And Keith, the chef in the café, was fabulous. (I hope I stated the correct name). The food was really good too.
You won’t be disappointment. Prepare to be in awe.

I love the history center. I wasn’t sure how my 18 month old would do, but it turned out to be more toddler friendly than I imagined. We went on one of the four annual free admission days and spent about an hour going through the exhibits, but we could’ve stayed longer and had fun. It’s not all toddler friendly but there was enough to keep him entertained and not disturb others. We’ll be back as he gets older, but grateful we were able to take advantage of the free day and get out of the house.

I was incredibly impressed by the “parents room.” My kiddo was getting over stimulated at one point so we went in and took a quiet moment. It was very clean and a place suited for nursing if needed.

It’s also worth noting that MHC does have an imperfect history with MN’s Native Tribes. I was happy to see how much content they had dedicated to Native MN history, including content on the boarding schools. It’s good to see what I believe to be a less white-washed look at MN history. This is what I want my kiddo to learn and is another reason we’ll be returning.

It’s aways amazing how much I learn every time I go to the History Center. The exhibits are always updating and the staff are so knowledgeable.

Spent most of a Sunday at the history center. I don’t like large crowds and I’m sensitive to loud environments /sounds. I got there right when they opened at 10am and it was perfect ! I also absolutely loved the Charles Schultz exhibit! It’s a must see! Overall I had one of the best solo trips. People mostly walked through the exhibits quietly. Enjoyed a very nice lunch in the cafe. I perused the gift shop at the end of my visit. So many cute things. I would have loved to be able to get so many of the cool books.

I thought my visit to the Minnesota History Center was pretty entertaining and educational. They have many great exhibits on the third floor of the History Center. The second floor has a great and vast library. The “Weather Permitting” exhibit was probably my favorite. They have an old house that you sit in and it simulates being in a tornado. The exhibit about life in the old prarie times was also very cool. They have a special exhibit area that changes to different things Minnesota related. There’s also many Native American artifacts as well. I would suggest visiting during the weekend because weekdays have school tours where kids are running around like madness with apparently no supervision.

We could have spent the whole day here! Some of our favorites are: the Peanuts exhibits, Native History & the Greatest Generation exhibits. The place is easy to navigate and get around and well organized. I recommend taking your older elementary kids here for some really great MN History. As a transplant from out of state, this is a place I’ll defiantly visit again!

Nearby, there’s a pedestrian bridge that spans the highway, offering a perfect view of the St. Paul skyline. It’s a great spot to take in the city’s iconic sights.

The Charles Schultz exhibit was a lot of fun! Interesting facts like what year each character was introduced, fun photo ops, drawing tables to make it trace your own cartoon. Great for all ages! It was our first visit there so we got to see the tornado drill, the old military plane which felt so real I can’t even imagine how they felt actually being shot at! So many things to see and do, mining, making shells for shooting, Native American people’s exhibit and art… It’s all a must see!