The651.com

Viking training camp starts Sunday and the State Fair is only a month away, yet if you need reminders (as I do) that we are still in mid-summer, six great family-friendly music events remain in the Minnesota History Center’s Nine Nights of Music, including tonight’s appearance by  Twin Cities Honky Tonkers, Trailer Trash.

Now in its 15^th year, Nine Nights of Music is an outdoor music series featuring a rich and culturally diverse lineup of entertainment, every Tuesday night through August from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The events include dance instructions from the Tapestry Fold Dance Center from 6:30 to 7 p.m., followed by music from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

The History Center provides a beautiful setting for an outdoor music venue with panoramic views of Saint Paul and the Minnesota State Capitol. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, a blanket or picnic as a part of the festivities. Food and beverages are also available from the History Center’s Café Minnesota. Admission the History Center’s Museum is free during the event. In the advent of rain, which is a possibility tonight, the performances are moved inside to the auditorium.

For more information on the Nine Nights of Music, check out the events section of mnhs.org.

As we are on the cusp of a classic, long, mid-summer heat wave, families looking for ways to cool off may want to consider the recently renovated Highland Aquatic Center in Saint Paul.  As a 12-year resident of Saint Paul, I had not ventured to the notorious Highland Pool, but the new incarnation is impressive and a kid’s water haven and, I assume, much more convenient the parents.

The $2 million in improvements, completed in time for the 2011 season, are substantial: a 200 foot long, 25 foot high water slide and landing pad, new locker rooms, showers and family changing rooms, refurbished box office with additional admission windows and shade from the sun, new concessions area with a spacious kitchen and seating area, and a new parking lot and landscaping.

In addition to these improvements and the Olympic-size swimming pool (I noticed teenagers hangout in the deep end!) the Center features a children’s activity pool with “age appropriate” children’s slides, interactive water geysers, and a water basketball area.  There’s a whale bone splash pad. For more advanced swimmers, try the state’s first aquatic climbing wall in the diving well that also has two, one-meter diving boards and two drop slides.

Admission fees are reasonable, $4.50 and $5 for kids, $6.50 for adults, $6 for seniors. Family rates and season memberships are also available.

Keep in mind, the Highland Aquatic Center is not for the faint of heart. My kids and I visited mid-day during the week and it was packed. The pool side reclining chairs were taken shortly after the pool was open to the public. As a result, there was nowhere to sit to watch my kids swim, the only other option was the picnic tables baking in the sun. In spite of the new digs, there was still a long wait at the concession stand, and the lifeguards are rather stern regarding who can swim where and with what.

None-the-less, my kids have had a great time at the Center and I expect a couple more return visits this summer.

In spite of my petty criticism of the lifeguard crew, a huge kudos is due for their great and important work in keeping the swimmers safe. On one of our visits, a young kid unknowingly jumped off the diving board into the diving well area (experienced swimmers only, no swim vests, no goggles!) and was clearly drowning. The quick, calm and efficient work of the lifeguard in that area and the others who rushed to the scene, turned a scary situation into a routine event. Thank you!

Looking for a fun reason to visit the Science Museum of  Minnesota and explore other parts of the city this summer? How about the chance to win a new 2011 Chevy Volt?

Visit Saint Paul launched a new summer promotion recently  called “Saint Paul: Code Green.” The eco-friendly,  high tech contest is a way to encourage families to visit 16 area attractions and businesses that utilize green technology. Upon visiting the participating  location, visitors can scan a QR code with their smartphone on a banner displayed on the outside of the attraction. After scanning the QR code, the user is invited to register to win various “green” prizes. In addition to the grand prize, the Volt, the promotion is also giving away an energy efficient furnace, washer and dryer, a Globe Bicycle and an electric lawn mower.

For the uninitiated, a QR code, or Quick Response code, is a  type of bar code that is scanable with a smartphone camera, through an application that is downloadable from your phone. Scanning the QR code processes the image and takes you to a dedicated website, in this case, a micro site that is specific to the location of the user with eco facts about the attraction, information on that destination, as well as a chance to enter the drawing. Here is an example of the promotional site for the Saint Paul Public Library.

For more information on Saint Paul: Code Green, go to saintpaulcodegreen.com.

Our family ventured out at sundown last Saturday evening to experience the new Northern Spark Art Festival at the Upper Landing Park, situated along the Mississippi River in Downtown Saint Paul. The festival took place from dusk to dawn and featured 100 art installations along the river in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. It was a beautiful, early summer evening and a large crowd was on hand to experience several exhibits, most notably, Scattered Light by renowned media artist Jim Campbell. Although unveiled as a part of the one day (or night) festival, the exhibit is on display through July 24, 2011.

Scattered Light features more than 1,600 LEDs housed in standard light bulbs suspended within a huge support structure 80 feet in length, 20 feet high, and 16 feet deep. It creates a shower of light that is very cool to experience from a number of angles; including walking around within the grid of lights (I believe this opportunity was only available the night of the festival). The LED bulbs are programmed so that, depending on a viewer’s vantage point, they “play back” in very low resolution a video of commuters in Grand Central Station, though that is difficult to decipher to the untrained eye.

Our kids, and dozens of others in attendance, were fascinated by the exhibit, as well a number of additional exhibits on display as a part of the festival at Upper Landing Park: ArtCars of Minnesota, and Wind-harps, Wind flutes, and an incredible Sewer Pipe Organ. Another highlight was to be the appearance of Nightmare, a large, floating video screen that gives the allusion of a horse galloping on the river, but the exhibit was delayed by more than 30 minutes and the clock ran out on our outing before we could see it.

The event must have been a giant undertaking; other than the delay of Nightmare, it seemed well organized and generated a lot of excitement on at Upper Landing Park.  

Obviously, Scattered Light is intended to be seen at night. Considering sundown is around 9pm this time of year, this can be past bedtime for younger kids. But, if you are willing to endure potentially crabby behavior the next day, a visit to this exhibit and Upper Landing Park is well worth it. For more information on Scattered Light and the Northern Spark festival, go to northernspark.org. 

The Saint Paul Farmer’s Market was in full swing this past weekend. Sunday was cold but sunny, and we ventured to Lowertown for our first visit to the Market this season. This early in the year, the produce is limited, but there were dozens of other vendors offering annuals and perennials, fresh flowers, herbs, vegetable garden plants and an assortment of other items frequently found at the market, including meat and fish, honey products and fresh baked goods. There are also a number of booths that offer crafts and other specialty products from soap to blankets and cooking sauces.

For the uninitiated, the downtown Saint Paul Market is one of the oldest continuously operating markets in the country, having appeared at various locations since the 1850’s. The Market, located at 4^th and 5^th Streets, between Wall and Broadway, is operated by the St. Paul Growers’ Association, and allows only fresh, locally grown produce to be sold – directly from the grower to the consumer. The summer market is open from April through October on Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sundays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

If you have the time and patience, the Farmer’s Market is a great family activity. Kid-friendly food, live music, balloon makers, face painting and other activities are available at various times throughout the season. There is a carnival-like atmosphere at the Market and during the peak produce seasons, we are able to load up on fresh produce. For us, a trip to the market includes overly indulgent stops for a hot dog and a chocolate sprinkle “long john” for the kids, plus the Golden’s Deli stand for breakfast bagel sandwiches for the adults. New this year is a free, horse-drawn wagon ride that transports visitors to nearby parking areas, but also offers rides along the way to kids and their parents.

For parking, a list of vendors and products, and other information on the Saint Paul Farmer’s Market, go to stpaulfarmersmarket.com.

The annual Festival of Nations takes place this weekend, May 5-8, at Saint Paul RiverCentre. The 79^th Anniversary event is available to students only in the morning and afternoon on Thursday and Friday, but open to the general public Friday, 4-10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The event features food, folk art demonstrations, an international bazaar, cultural exhibits, dance and music in themes from countries and cultures throughout the world.

I ventured in with my daughter Anna on Thursday morning as hoards of students were being dropped off by buses in front of RiverCentre.  We took in the food area first, which offers a variety of courses from nearly 40 ethnic “cafes.” I can’t vouch for the authenticity, but most of it looked great and the items that we tried were delicious (nothing wrong with Korean BBQ for breakfast). Those who possess a sweet tooth will be especially pleased, having many options to choose from, including the Frosty Kaffee with Whipped Cream and Chocolate Drizzle at the Swiss café, to the Sweet Sushi Plate at the booth representing Japan.

Next we were on to the Bazaar and Folk Art Demonstrations. The Bazaar is a large shopping area that offers cultural crafts, clothing, jewelry, toys and countless other items from around 50 vendors.  The Folk Art demonstrations were a pleasant surprise; there seemed to be genuine craftsmanship associated with artists participating and the exhibits offer a wide variety of displays.

Needless to say Festival of Nations is a great family event. This was my first visit and surprisingly, it wasn’t too kitschy. The teenagers in attendance seemed entertained and engaged. Several were sporting items that were recently purchased and they were interacting with many of the artists. My 4-year-old daughter was thoroughly entertained, by the food and market, though the crowd became a little overwhelming after a while. The cost of admission is reasonable ($7 for youth, $10 for adults), prices for the food were modest and the market area offered a wide range of items that cost as little as a couple of bucks to fairly expensive merchandise.

For more information on the Festival of Nations, go to festivalofnations.com.

For me, the key to a good family activity is finding something that will sufficiently entertain both parents and children. In the case of our visit last weekend to the final installment of Urban Expedition at Landmark Center, I was fairly certain that the interests of all parties would be attended to. Urban Expedition is a series of 5 cultural events that feature a different country and takes place on Sundays in March and April. I was familiar with this series as it has taken place each year over the last couple years, but I have not had the opportunity to attend prior to this.

Sunday’s event was dedicated to the Czech Republic / Slovakia (the others were Nepal, Chile, Somalia and Egypt), and featured the prerequisite native costumes, with music, dancing and food, plus crafts and vendors ranging from jewelry and cultural clubs to information on the Ms. Czech Minnesota contest. Urban Expedition is definitely billed as a kid-friendly event, but I was struck by the number of adults in attendance. None-the-less, there were plenty of activities to keep the young ones entertained.

The series features an activity called Passport to Adventure. To participate, kids attend each or any of the events in the series, visit a few passport stations at the event and write something they learned about each country in the passport. Upon entering Landmark Center, they have the chance to get their picture taken, it’s placed in the passport and off they go. My 4 year old daughter Anna is chronically shy in these situations and refused to get her picture taken, but my 7 year old son Leo was persuaded to participate and enjoyed it. The stations offered projects and entertainment areas, such as a postcard making table and a puppet show. Czech children’s books, toys and other artifacts were also on display.

One thing I’ve learned as a parent is that kids love costumes and perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this event for Leo and Anna was seeing other children decked out in costumes and participating in dances. This, plus the hot dogs and dessert, was enough to make the visit worthwhile by Brock children standards.

Although this was the last of the series for this year’s Urban Expedition, I definitely recommend families pencil it in on their calendars for 2012. Also, Landmark Center is a magnificent building, one of my favorite places in Saint Paul. It offers year-round events, many of which (similar to Urban Expedition) are geared towards families. It features a visitor information center that provides info on events and attractions in Saint Paul, plus the terrific Uncle Sam Worked Here exhibit, the American Association of Woodturners Galleries, The Schubert Club Museum of music and the Ramsey County Historical Society’s exhibit. Though the permanent exhibits and galleries may not be well-suited for young kids, the building itself is spectacular, and the view from the upper floors to the atrium and cortile below will fascinate most children and makes Landmark Center worth dropping in on from time to time. For more information, check out www.landmarkcenter.org.

My son Leo, my daughter Anna and I decided to take advantage of spring break recently to visit the Science Museum of Minnesota and their special exhibit: King Tut. You would have to be living in isolation not to have seen advertisements promoting the presence of the “Boy King” in Saint Paul, and driving past billboards or perusing print ads would bring the exhibit to the top of conversation with my kids. Somehow my son had become familiar with the famous pharaoh through school and friends and both were anxious to see it. I couldn’t help myself and had to further heighten the sense of anticipation by introducing them to the classic Saturday Night Live skit from the 70′s featuring Steve Martin (the line “He gave his life for tourism” still applies) on YouTube.

We live off of West 7^th Street, less than a mile from the Science Museum, so we took advantage of a relatively balmy afternoon to walk to see the exhibit. With a concert that evening at Xcel Energy Center and some event at RiverCentre, it was good to see activity and energy Downtown on a Friday afternoon.

The King Tut exhibit features 100 artifacts from a number of kings and queens of ancient Egypt including Tutankhamen. As with most popular exhibits that appear at the SMM, entrance to King Tut is timed, so planning in advance and making reservations is recommended. Once you’re in however, you can spend as much time as needed to experience the exhibit. Keep in mind, that if you leave, you are not allowed to re-enter. Walking up to the exhibit entrance, you may encounter a long line snaking through a series or roped-off areas. But don’t be alarmed, the line moves rather quickly.

Upon entering King Tut, you walk into a tomb-like waiting area, where a video introduction welcomes you to the exhibit. Once inside, you proceed through labyrinth of rooms containing the various artifacts, as well as interpretive information on ancient Egypt, archeology, forensic studies as well as the kings and queens themselves. Video monitors are located throughout and provide additional context including documentary-style reenactments. The artifacts are stunning and presented in dramatic fashion, with ominous atmospheric lighting and music (I spotted more than one child snoozing in a stroller). Despite the number of people in the exhibit area, it was easy to access the different displays and plenty of opportunities to read the interpretive information in-depth. The exhibit culminates with items from the tomb of Tut, unearthed by British explorer Howard Carter in 1922. This part of the exhibit is laid out in a way that is similar to what Carter may have encountered at the time of discovery. The pièce de résistance is a replica of Tut’s mummy, the only one in the world created directly from recent CT scans.

On the Kid-O-Meter, 7-year-old Leo enjoyed the exhibit very much, but after a few minutes with the preliminaries, the inevitable “Where’s the mummy?” questions hastened our travel through the artifacts. He looks forward to returning to the exhibit on a school field trip later this spring. My 4-year old daughter was less impressed. She was a little bored until we got the mummy, on a better day she may have been more entertained.

The spirits of both children soared of course once they saw the gift shop upon exiting the exhibit. The store featured numerous Tut and ancient Egyptian related trinkets, souvenirs, and other items, so parents should be prepared for the onslaught of requests from their kids. The store was actually pretty fun, with a lot of items to choose from that are reasonably priced. The highlight to me was a vending machine where you type in a name and it’s converted into a hieroglyphic cartouche, or nameplate, and printed on souvenir paper. It was only a $1 and my kids were thrilled.

 
Coupled with time spent at other exhibits, the musical stairs, and a snack at the Elements Café, the three of us enjoyed a great afternoon together. For more information on King Tut (which runs through September 5), admission fees, hours of operations, etc., visit the Science Museum of Minnesota’s website at www.smm.org.