FREE! & Frugal Family Fun May 23 - 29

Friday, May 23 
State Capital LEGO Model Display, State Capitol, St. Paul, 8:30 - 5 PM, FREE

Ultimate Dinosaurs, Science Museum of Minnesota, (runs until 8/24), kids FREE! (until 5/31) with paid adult

Last days of Dinosaurs: Land of Fire & Ice (closes 5/26) opening of  Mastermind, Mold, and Make:Creativity Jam, Children's Museum, St. Paul, 9 AM - 8 PM, $9.95/ticket or buy a membership (exhibit closes 5/26)Camping Skills, Cedar Lake Farm, New Prague, 4 PM, ages 8+, $7

Build a Burger Junior Chef Class, Williams-Sonoma, Edina Galleria, 7 PM, ages 8+, FREE!

Movies in the Park – Frozen Sing-Along, Coon Rapids, 8:30 PM, FREE!  

Family Night, Midtown Global Market, Minneapolis, 5 - 8 PM, FREE!

Saturday, May 24
Family Archery, Cleary Lake Regional Park, Prior Lake, 9 AM, ages 8+, $7


Minnesota Air National Guard Museum - Minneapolis, 9:30 - 3 PM, FREE!

Brickmania Toyworks Open House, Minneapolis, 10 AM - 4 PM, FREE!

Toys of the 50s, 60s, & 70s, Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, 10 AM-5 PM, $6 kids/$11 adults or buy a membershipHistoric Fort Snelling, Opening Weekend, Veterans receive free entrance on Memorial Day, 10 AM-5 PM, kids $6, adults $11 or buy a membership

Peer into the Pond, Maplewood Nature Center, Maplewood, 10 AM, ages 5+, FREE!

Nature Play Club, Richardson Nature Center, Bloomington, 10 AM, $5

Family Flicks, Theatres of Mall of America, 10 AM, TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), FREE!

Memorial Day Weekend, The Landing, 10 AM - 5 PM, FREE!

Spanish Storytime, Red Balloon Bookstore, ages birth - 3, 10:30 AM, FREE!

Summit Avenue Walking Tours, James J. Hill House, St. Paul, 11 AM & 2 PM, $8 kids, $12 adults, discount for members

Mammels, Lowry Nature Center, Victoria, 1 PM, FREE!

Feeding Frenzy, Eastman Nature Center, Dayton, 1 - 3 PM, FREE!

Family Canoeing, Cleary Lake Regional Park, Prior Lake, 1 - 3 PM, $15

Sunday, May 25
Memorial Day Weekend, The Landing, 10 AM - 5 PM, FREE!

Historic Fort Snelling, Opening Weekend, Veterans receive free entrance on Memorial Day, 10 AM-5 PM, kids $6, adults $11 or buy a membership

Reptiles and Amphibians, Lowry Nature Center, Victoria, 1 - 2:30 PM, FREE!Pond Dipping, Carl Kroening Interpretive Center, Minneapolis, 1 - 3 PM, FREE!

Make Your Own Flint and Steel Fire, Elm Creek Park Reserve, Maple Grove, 1 - 3 PM, FREE!

Reptiles and Amphibians, Lowry Nature Center, Victoria, 1 - 2:30 PM, FREE!

Marie-Grace & Cécile’s Embroidered Card Craft, American Girl, 1-3 PM, ages 8+, FREE!

Summit Avenue Walking Tours, James J. Hill House, St. Paul, 2 PM, $8 kids, $12 adults, discount for members

FREE Guided Tour of Fraconia, 2 - 3 PM

Pond Exploration, Richardson Nature Center, Bloomington, 3 - 4 PM, FREE!

Monday, May 26
Memorial Day Weekend, The Landing, 10 AM - 5 PM, FREE! Historic Fort Snelling, Opening Weekend, Veterans receive free entrance on Memorial Day, 10 AM-5 PM, kids $6, adults $11 or buy a membership

Owl Pellet Dissection, Lowry Nature Center, Victoria, 1 - 2:30 PM, $5

School's Out Memorial Day Jumping, Pump it Up, Eden Prairie, 1 - 3 PM

Feed the Animals, Carl Kroening Interpretive Center, Minneapolis, 1 - 3 PM, FREE!

Memorial Day Animal Show, Eastman Nature Center, Dayton, 1 - 4 PM, FREE!

Open Kid's Climb, Elm Creek Park Reserve, Maple Grove, 1 - 4 PM, ages 5+, $5Insect Hunt, Lowry Nature Center, Victoria, 3 - 4 PM, FREE!

During the month of May, Noodles is offering a free kid's mac and cheese meal with an adult meal. Click here for additional kids eat free deals around the Twin Cities.

Tuesday, May 27
Paul Spring, Mall of America's Toddler Tuesdays, 10 AM – 12 PM, Rotunda, FREE!

Movies for Kids, Galaxie Library, Apple Valley, 10:15 AM, ages 2-6, FREE!


Imagination Corner with MacPhail Center for Music, Children's Museum, 10:30 AM, $9.95/ticket or buy a membership

Flint Hills International Children's Festival, Weyerhauser Auditorium, St. Paul, 11 AM, $3.50

Summer Reading Bookmark Craft, American Girl, 5 - 7 PM, ages 8+, FREE! 

Frog Chorus Hike, Maplewood Nature Center, Maplewood, 7 PM, ages 6+, $4/family

Wednesday, May 28

Play Date Wednesday, Teeny Bee Boutique, St. Paul, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM, FREE!

Flint Hills International Children's Festival, Weyerhauser Auditorium, St. Paul, 11 AM, $3.50

Thursday, May 29Flint Hills International Children's Festival, Weyerhauser Auditorium, St. Paul, 11 AM, $3.50 

Mommy & Me Music Class, Teeny Bee Boutique, 3:30 - 4:15 PM, birth - 3, FREE!

Summer Flower Anklet Craft, American Girl, 5 - 7 PM, ages 8+, FREE!

Dark Sky Astronomy, Eastman Nature Center, Dayton, 8 - 9:30 PM, ages 7+, $5

 

Ongoing Programs

Barnes & Noble Storytime

Como Zoo, FREE! (suggested donation) $3 adult/$2 child

F.A.N.tastic Saturday at Eagan Community Center, 5 – 9 PM, $3
Hennepin County Library Storytime, Book Clubs, and Events

Saturday Morning on the Gale Woods Farm, Minnetrista, 9:30 AM – 12 PM, all ages, $5 

Brickmania Open House, First Thursdays, 5 - 9 PM & 2nd Saturday 10 AM - 4 PM

Tail Time, Wild Rumpus, Mondays, 10:30 AM, FREE!
Shrek the Musical (until 6/8)and The Cat in the Hat (until 7/20), Children's Theatre, Minneapolis

Kids Bowl Free 

Additional Family Fun Resources
Family Fun Twin Cities highlights several free family-friendly activities going on this weekend and also provides an on-going free calendar of activities each day.
Macaroni Kid is a great resource for finding kid-friendly events in your area.
MELSA Library Calendar makes it easy to find events at your local library (and they have much more than just reading-based activities)
PhenoMNal Twin Cities lists freebies and discounts for adults in the Twin Cities and maintains an events calendar, as well.
Thrifty Minnesota has an “events” category highlighting free and discounted activities for Minnesota folks.
Twin Cities Frugal Mom cherry-picks a wide variety of family-friendly events with her Deals & Events calendar.