Target the Stars Blog

Yesterday I was surprised with an early Christmas gift, a big white envelope with local Minnesota scientist and mom Liz Heinecke's brand new book Kitchen Science Lab for Kids: 52 Family-Friendly Experiments Around the house . I enjoyed meeting Liz on the Twin Cities Live set back in June and loved her easy to make experiments and nature studies featured during her segment . As soon as I ripped open the envelope and started reading the book I knew the 52 experiments designed to be easy enough for a 2 year-old to help and interesting enough for a teen to learn would be incorporated a weekly science day into our alphabet-obsessed lives.  Liz has pulled together manageable and yet totally fun experiments including chemical reactions, physics, life science, polymers, botany, microbiology, electricity, and even rocket science.  This book would make a perfect birthday or even teacher gift. Liz is a former research scientist who has turned her love of science into a sour...

It's an unusual place for a garden, right smack in the middle of Lyndale, 58th Street and right off of the crazy Crosstown Hwy 62, you'll find Uncommon Gardens . A beautiful gardening store with everything you're looking for on the edge of South Minneapolis.  The best part of this store...they have a Gardening Elves club that meets once a month in the summer to do fun crafts for the little people who flock our gardens every summer (ummm, pixies, fairies, gnomes...all those creatures you have to have the heart of a child to see and believe. This Saturday, I'm excited to be hosting my first event at Uncommon Gardens...a hammock and raft.   Call (612) 866-3033 or just show up at 11 AM.  The event is my favorite kind, free!  If you can't make this one, be sure to join the mailing list here to learn about upcoming events.

All listings are free unless price is noted. Be sure to read the Disclaimer before you go to these events. Friday, June 13 Stone Arch Bridge Festival Sand Castle Day, Round Lake Park, Eden Prairie, ages 6 and under, 10 AM – 2 PM Father’s Day Card Craft, American Girl, 5 PM, ages 8+ Canoe When the Moon is Full, Hyland Park Reserve , 8 – 10 PM, $8 Ramsey After Dark: Victorian Superstitions , 8:30 PM, $7 - $10 The Princess Bride , Lake Harriet Bandshell, 15 minutes after sunset Saturday, June 14 National Get Outdoors Day , FREE admission to all Minnesota State Parks Stone Arch Bridge Festival Deutsche Tage Weekend Celebration , St. Paul National Outdoor Day Hike: From Fish Creek to Prairie , ages 8+, 9:30 – 11:30 AM Family Flicks , Theatres of Mall of America, 10 AM, Hugo My Preschooler & Me: Outdoor Adventurers – Fishing Fun , 10 – 11:30 AM, $5 Minnesota PlayCleanGo, Richardson Nature Center, 11 AM – 3 PM Canoe and Kayak ...

We're kicking off our 4th Alphabet Summer next week and we're starting with one of the toughest letters of the alphabet - the letter Q!   Starting at 6 PM on Monday, June 9, the Alphabet Adventures gang and I will be selling Free & Frugal Family Fun books for $10 at Q. Cumbers in Edina and providing a fun and easy craft for kids Q.Cumbers is one of the 53 restaurants with 113 locations listed in the book that has kids eat cheap or free nights.   Every Monday from 4 PM to close up to two children ages 12 and under eat for 99 ¢ with one adult meal.  Q. Cumbers is one of the best buffet style restaurants in the Twin Cities with the biggest and best salad bar.   10% of book sales are donated to Anaphylaxis and Food Allergy Association of Minnesota .  Q. Cumbers is located at 7465 France Avenue South in Edina. If the weather is good, make it a family night with a stroll around Centennial Lakes, a paddle boat ride, or a little...

All listings are free unless price is noted. Be sure to read the Disclaimer before you go to these events. Friday, June 6 Kiddywampus Open Studio , Hopkins, 10 AM – 4:30 PM, $8, ages 18 months – 10 Edina Art Fair , 10 AM – 7 PM Gammalgarden Museum Tours , Scandia, 1 & 2:30 PM, $7 adults, kids free ExploraDome Show , Bell Natural History Museum, Minneapolis, 2 – 3 PM, $4 - 6 Saturday, June 7 Birding by Ear , Carl Kroening Interpretive Center, Minneapolis, 7 – 9 AM, $5, ages 12+ Home Depot Free Kids Workshops , Build a Riding Lawnmower, 9 AM – 12 PM Family Flicks, Theatres of Mall of America, 10 AM, Enchanted Twin City Model Railroad Museum and Toy Train Division , St. Paul, 10 AM – 3 PM, $6 Edina Art Fair , 10 AM – 7 PM Snakes Alive and Dad’s Day Ties , Eastman Nature Center, Dayton, 10:30 AM – 12 PM, $7 Raptors in the Amphitheater , Richardson Nature Center, Bloomington, 11 AM – 12 PM Crafts for Kids, Lakeshore Learning , Maplewood and St....