City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 2097 West Larpenteur Ave.
48. John H. Stevens House
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (612) 722-2220
Address: 4801 Minnehaha Ave. South
Description: The John H. Stevens House, built in 1849 and originally located in the present-day riverfront spot of the Minneapolis Post Office, is the first permanent settler’s home in Minneapolis. The home of Col. John H. Stevens and his family served as the social and civic hub of the new city. People met here to discuss a name for the city and to organize local schools and government. It was here that John Stevens drew up the original territorial boundaries for Hennepin County. The first county elections were held here in 1852.The house is in south Minneapolis’s Minnehaha Park on Minnehaha Avenue just south of East Minnehaha Parkway. It is across the street from the 50th Street Light-Rail Transit station.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 704 South Second St.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 900 South Fifth St.
51. The Bakken Library And Museum
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (612) 926-3878
Address: 3537 Zenith Ave. South
Description: Established in 1976 by Earl E. Bakken, inventor of the first transistorized cardiac pacemaker and cofounder of Medtronic, a Twin Cities company on the cutting edge of electrocardio technology, this Tudor-style mansion houses an incredible collection of rare books, manuscripts, and scientific thingamajigs that are all related to the role electricity plays in life.The Bakken Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday; the museum’s research library, with 11,000 rare books and 2,500 scientific instruments, is open Monday through Friday. The museum and library are on the west side of south Minneapolis’s Lake Calhoun on Zenith Avenue South just north of West 36th Street.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 10 Church St. SE
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 2303 Third Ave. South
54. Minnesota Air Guard Museum
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (612) 713-2523
Description: This small but historically important museum displays vintage aircraft and memorabilia of the Minnesota Air National Guard. The memorabilia—airplane pictures, portraits, helmets, patches—is crowded into a couple of cramped rooms in a hangar. The museum’s focus is on local flyboys, but 22 cool old planes are on display on the tarmac outside, including fighter jets, transports, and the terrifying black A-12, the CIA’s favorite superfast spy plane.Because the museum is located on an active military base, visitors must arrive by vehicle (rather than light-rail transit) and must show a photo ID. Its hours vary by season and by staffing. The museum is in a corner of the National Guard Base, and it is best to check the Web site, call ahead, or ask at the guard station for directions.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
57. Nickelodeon Universe
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (952) 883-8600
Description: Located at the center of the Mall of America, Nickelodeon Universe, the largest indoor amusement park in America, has more than 25 rides and attractions for kids and adults alike. Admission to the park is free; you purchase points or a wristband for rides. If you’d like to sneak some kid-free shopping in, drop the little ones off at Kids Quest in Nickelodeon Universe. The child care facility charges by the hour, and there’s plenty for kids to do here, including read books, sing karaoke, and play nonviolent video games.
58. Water Park At The Depot
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (612) 758-7818
Address: 225 Third Ave. South
Description: With 15,000 square feet, this locomotive-themed water park includes a three-story waterslide, multiple pools, and a slide/train that sprays water. It’s pretty pricey for its size (or lack thereof), but it’s connected to hotels that offer package deals and it’s downtown, near many other attractions.
59. Water Park Of America
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (952) 698-8888
Address: 1700 East American Blvd.
Description: Adjacent to the Mall of America, the Water Park of America offers the only surfing simulator in Minnesota, a wave pool, a ten-story raft ride, swimming pools, and more. Arrive early during warm summer weekends, as the water park often fills to capacity. The water park is open seasonally and hours vary (call ahead for details). The water park complex includes a game arcade with many different prizes for winners.
60. Underwater Adventures Aquarium
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (952) 883-0202 or (888) 348-38
Description: Underwater Adventures is a huge (1.2 million gallons) walk-through aquarium featuring more than 4,500 different sea creatures from around the world in eight exhibits. For a one-time admission charge, visitors can walk through a glass tunnel that leads them underneath the three freshwater exhibits: Touch of the Wild Woods, Fisherman’s Hollow, and the Wild Amazon, and five ocean exhibits: Shark Cove, Rainbow Reef, Seacrits of Hollywood (with famous fish like Nemo), Starfish Beach, and Circle of Life, where children can touch harmless sharks and stingrays.