A River Runs Through It
Collectors of all ages can get their feet wet in St. Paul’s new science center
MUSEUM
Poised on a bluff above the Mississippi River, the new home of the Science Museum of Minnesota showers visitors with gifts of light, air, and space—as well as a chance to explore the river’s geology and ecology. Patrons enter the museum through the Mississippi River Gallery, which leads to huge windows overlooking the river. Along the way they can inspect a diorama of the river’s headwaters, finger examples of the region’s prevailing rocks, and heft accurately weighted models of bass to judge the true size of the one that got away. Especially delightful is the mini floodplain—a glass-topped table filled with sand and silt, shaped by an adjustable stream of water. It’s reset every morning to show how the course of the river shifts with time. On the balcony sits child heaven: an authentic, 13-ton towboat, scarred from its 50 years on the river. Climb into the pilot house and take the helm, making sure you steer clear of the other towboats passing on the river below.
When the museum opened the doors of its new building in downtown St. Paul two months ago, it not only added a pair of theaters and doubled its exhibition space, it also expanded science education. What started in 1907 as a natural history museum is now a sparkling science center, with new displays of technological art, demonstrations of physical sciences, and interactivity everywhere.
