<p>We’ll be in the Twin Cities this month for an admitted students event at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology. As long as we’re there, I’d like to do something fun with my 18 and 19 year old sons. Not necessarily to see what the cities have to offer, just to enjoy ourselves. Shopping at the Mall of America is out, although we might visit the aquarium that’s in the Mall. I’ve also been to the zoo and we’ll go there if the weather cooperates.</p>
<p>Anyone have any ideas of things that my sons would enjoy?</p>
<p>minnesota historical society–james j hill house is kind of neat, but i’m not sure of the hours of operation. summit avenue walking tour if that’s available in the late winter/early spring?</p>
<p>hockey fans? check to see if the minnesota wild is in town</p>
<p>theatre fans? The Ordway in St. Paul–or Park Square Theatre in St. Paul</p>
<p>antiques? stillwater has some interesting shops</p>
<p>Breweries? Summit Avenue Brewery–might have some good tours</p>
<p>I guess I’m not all that original…most cities have this type of stuff, but they are some of my favorites. Grand Avenue in St Paul has some fun restaurants.</p>
<p>The Science Museum of Minnesota is opening a new exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls on March 12. The Omni Theater at the museum always has interesting movies.</p>
<p>Music–Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. The Electric Fetus is a well known record store that might be fun to check out. </p>
<p>Art–The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is wonderful, and it’s free. The Walker has a great collection of modern art.</p>
<p>History–The Minnesota History Center in St. Paul</p>
<p>what about the Science Museum in St. Paul? A new exhibit, The Dead Sea Scrolls, starts next week and you could also see whatever IMAX film is playing in their Omnitheater.</p>
<p>If it’s in town, see if you can get tickets to the live broadcast performance of Prairie Home Companion at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. I’ve seen it there. It was great.</p>
<p>Thanks for the helpful information. We are definitely going to check out the exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls. My oldest son is taking Ancient Greek and they have studied the bible of St. John’s, which will also be highlighted in the exhibit, so I know he will be very interested. The Institute of Art also sounded like a strong possibility to them. The Prairie Home Companion would have been fun, but unfortunately it won’t be at the Fitzgerald Theater when we are there. Will look into the Electic Fetus. They are both into music. Is there anything close by that we should check out? Any ideas for a restaurant for lunch/dinner that would be close by any of these venues?</p>
<p>A couple of sites that list events are [Vita.mn</a> - Minnesota Arts and Entertainment](<a href=“City Pages”>http://www.vita.mn/) and [Minneapolis</a> News, Events, Restaurants, Music](<a href=“http://www.citypages.com%5DMinneapolis”>http://www.citypages.com) It is possible there might be some 18+ events they could get into. </p>
<p>The Guthrie is showing Macbeth and Brief Encounters, even if you don’t go to a play, it is fun to check out the building. There is a great view of the riverfront, both from the Endless Bridge and the Dowling Studio lobby. </p>
<p>The Electric Fetus isn’t far from the Mpls Institute of Arts, if you head west from there you can get to Nicollet Avenue which has a number of Asian restaurants, Chinese, Vietnamese, and many other ethnic restaurants.</p>
<p>There are a variety of restaurants not too far from the Science Museum. Cossetta’s is a casual Italian restaurant, it’s cafeteria-style but only a few blocks away. Meritage is a good French-style brasserie. Check out the Mpls St Paul chowhound board for lots of restaurant ideas. </p>
<p>I’d second the Dakota as a great place for live music, mostly jazz. They have good food and it has a fun, intimate atmosphere.</p>
<p>My husband (a U of M alum) suggested Stub and Herb’s because it’s such a campus tradition. It is a pub/restaurant in Stadium Village, very near the new football stadium. He enjoyed going there in the 80s and his dad used to go there in the 40s. I had to laugh when I went to the website because across the bottom of the main page it says “Your Grandpa Drank Here”. Yup.</p>