Science Museum of Minnesota

Science on Tap at Indeed Brewing: Anthropology
2026-07-16 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Indeed Brewing, 711 NE 15th Ave, Minneapolis, 55413, United States
The Science Museum of Minnesota and Indeed Brewing present Crafting Copper! Native copper-working in the Great Lakes region is among the oldest metal-working traditions in the world. Join Science Museum archaeologists to discuss recent research into this ancient craft, seeing examples of copper spear points and other tools from the museum’s collection.

Science on Tap at Indeed Brewing is a weekly series featuring a different topic each Thursday. Join the Science Museum of Minnesota scientists at Indeed Brewing for a science lesson and a pint. Visit our friends at Indeed Brewing this summer for conversations with leading researchers who are shaping our understanding of the world — all while enjoying Indeed pours.

Insider Science Tour: Collections
2026-07-17 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-07 16:00 - 17:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Seize this chance to not only see our collections and meet the specialists doing the work. Tours are limited to 10 participants for a more personalized experience, so don’t wait to secure a spot for this one-of-a-kind opportunity.

Science on Tap at Indeed Brewing: Paleontology
2026-07-23 18:00 - 19:30 | Indeed Brewing, 711 NE 15th Ave, Minneapolis, 55413, United States
The Science Museum of Minnesota and Indeed Brewing present Dinosaur Time! Join the Science Museum of Minnesota’s Paleontology Department to learn about their latest discoveries: dinosaurs of Montana, crocodiles of North Dakota, and the Ice Age giants of Minnesota. See and touch real and rarely revealed fossils from the museum’s collections vault.

Science on Tap at Indeed Brewing is a weekly series featuring a different topic each Thursday. Join the Science Museum of Minnesota scientists at Indeed Brewing for a science lesson and a pint. Visit our friends at Indeed Brewing this summer for conversations with leading researchers who are shaping our understanding of the world — all while enjoying Indeed pours.

Science on Tap at Indeed Brewing: Collections
2026-07-30 18:00 - 19:30 | Indeed Brewing, 711 NE 15th Ave, Minneapolis, 55413, United States
The Science Museum of Minnesota and Indeed Brewing present Take Care of Your Treasures! Learn how we take care of the museum’s 2 million items and how you can use museum-quality methods to care for your own belongings. Bring an item from home if you want specific advice! One item per attendee, please.

Science on Tap at Indeed Brewing is a weekly series featuring a different topic each Thursday. Join the Science Museum of Minnesota scientists at Indeed Brewing for a science lesson and a pint. Visit our friends at Indeed Brewing this summer for conversations with leading researchers who are shaping our understanding of the world — all while enjoying Indeed pours.

Member Hour x T. rex
2026-07-31 09:30 - 09:50, 2026-08-28 09:30 - 09:50 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Stop by for a selfie with the T. rex puppet!

Tag us on your favorite social media platform or share your pic in the group chat.

Available on a first come, first served basis.

Insider Science Tour: Paleontology
2026-07-31 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-21 16:00 - 17:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Seize this chance to not only see our Paleontology collection and meet the specialists doing the work. Tours are limited to 10 participants for a more personalized experience, so don’t wait to secure a spot for this one-of-a-kind opportunity.

Museum Nights
2026-07-31 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-08-07 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-08-14 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-08-21 17:00 - 20:00, 2026-08-28 17:00 - 20:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Media Partner

Friday nights are the perfect time for a museum adventure! Explore museum galleries, check out special Science Live performances, enjoy delectable food and drink, and catch an Omnitheater showing of our latest large-screen offering.

To make the most of your Museum Night adventure:

5:15 p.m.: Science Spectacle!

Live demonstration featuring a rotating collection of supporting characters, including fire, rockets, and more.

6:15 p.m.: Science Spectacle!

Live demonstration featuring a rotating collection of supporting characters, including fire, rockets, and more.

7:15 p.m.: Science Spectacle!

Live demonstration featuring a rotating collection of supporting characters, including fire, rockets, and more.

Looking for a less structured visit? Food, beverage, gallery exploration, and Omnitheater movies are all on continuous rotation during Museum Nights. Learn more at smm.org/mn.

Dino Fest
2026-08-01 11:00 - 15:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Presented by

The fan-favorite festival of fossilized friends and prehistoric predators returns to the museum bigger and birdier than ever! Let our paleontology experts and partners guide you through a day of dino discovery with activities, demonstrations, Science Live performances, and so much moar roar.

What’s happening:

11 a.m.: Special How to Train Your Dino-themed Science Live show “Dino Check Up” including T. rex tooth-brushing, courtesy of Delta Dental, with Dr. Alex Hastings. Atrium stage

11:30 a.m.: “The Dinosaur Coast: A Fossil Trackway & Its Cultural Significance” talk with Dillon Jett. Atrium Stage

12 p.m.: Live Eagle Demonstration with the National Eagle Center, Discovery Hall.

Seating on a first-come first-served basis.

12:30 p.m.: “Olfactory Evolution in Rodents” talk with Lila Youngdahl. Atrium Stage

12:30-1:30 p.m.: Special appearance from Rory the Aurorasaurus, Minnesota Aurora’s mascot.

1 p.m.: How to Train Your Dino Science Live Show, Atrium Stage.

1:30 p.m.: Field Jacket opening, Level 3 Terrace.

2 p.m.: “CSI: Jurassic” talk with Michael Chiappone. Atrium Stage

2 p.m.: Live Eagle Demonstration with the National Eagle Center, Discovery Hall.

Seating on a first-come first-served basis.

2:30 p.m.: “What Could Go Wrong? Mishaps in Paleo Fieldwork” talk with Grace DeVault. Atrium Stage

2:50 p.m.: “Count Scrapula: The latest on the Science Museum of Minnesota Dino Dig Site” talk with Dr. Alex Hastings. Atrium Stage

Nature All Around Us Member Preview
2026-08-06 15:00 - 17:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Get a sneak peek of our newest exhibit, exploring urban ecology that we see throughout our city’s parks and streets, all while making connections with your fellow science supporters.

Science on Tap at Indeed Brewing: Water
2026-08-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Indeed Brewing, 711 NE 15th Ave, Minneapolis, 55413, United States
The Science Museum of Minnesota and Indeed Brewing present Lake Life. Nothing is more critical to good beer than clean water. Come learn how the Science Museum of Minnesota’s St. Croix Watershed Research Station is addressing the biggest issues threatening our lakes and streams across Minnesota and around the world.

Science on Tap at Indeed Brewing is a weekly series featuring a different topic each Thursday. Join the Science Museum of Minnesota scientists at Indeed Brewing for a science lesson and a pint. Visit our friends at Indeed Brewing this summer for conversations with leading researchers who are shaping our understanding of the world — all while enjoying Indeed pours.

Opening Day: Nature All Around us
2026-08-07 09:00 - 20:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Be the first to visit Nature All Around Us!

Nature All Around Us explores the world’s interconnected natural engineering solutions: how trees cool our neighborhoods, how streams carry storm water away from our homes, and how spending time in nature keeps us healthy.

Filled with immersive environments and hands-on interactives, Nature All Around Us challenges the notion that urban and natural environments are separate and shows the myriad ways they are connected.

Exhibit Highlights

See dozens of animal specimens from world-class research collections.

Discover the hidden worlds and rich ecosystems through immersive media installations.

Explore the ways our daily lives are intertwined with nature by taking a virtual bicycle ride through our own backyard.

Meet the citizen scientists who record nature in their communities and learn more about how you can get involved.

Insider Science Tour: Biology
2026-08-14 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-28 16:00 - 17:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Seize this chance to not only see our Biology collection and meet the specialists doing the work. Tours are limited to 10 participants for a more personalized experience, so don’t wait to secure a spot for this one-of-a-kind opportunity.

Latin Americans in STEM
2026-08-15 11:00 - 15:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
The Science Museum of Minnesota is welcoming the best and brightest thinkers, innovators, and educators to celebrate community and the science that connects us. Science is better when we all work together.

During Latin Americans in STEM Day, we’re bringing together voices from across Twin Cities community organizations, educational institutions, and advocacy groups to celebrate and elevate the impacts of diverse communities in STEM.

Enjoy live performances by Salsa Del Soul at 11 a.m. and Colombia Live at 1:30 p.m., then learn about science careers and do hands-on activities with Telemundo, Free Geek Twin Cities, Hennepin County Office of Multi-Cultural Services, Minnesota Department of Transportation and Metro Transit!

Ride free to the museum with Metro Transit!

Delta Air Lines Featured Partner Day
2026-08-19 10:00 - 14:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Join our partners from Delta Air Lines on National Aviation Day for hands-on activities and demonstrations that fuse scientific principles with their organization’s mission. Connect with STEM professionals from their organization, learn the ‘why’ behind their work, and deepen your understanding of their contributions to STEM.

During the day:

Make paper airplanes and rockets to test on a ready-made runway

Participate in a scavenger hunt for a prize

Meet STEM workers at Delta Air Lines like pilots, airplane mechanics, and front line staff.

Ultimate Dinosaurs at the State Fair
2026-08-27 09:00 - 2026-09-07 20:00 | North End Event Center – Minnesota State Fair, 1265 Snelling Ave. N., St. Paul, MN, 55108, United States
On view at the Minnesota State Fair, Ultimate Dinosaurs invites you to experience a side of the prehistoric world most have never seen. This exhibition ventures beyond the familiar Triceratops and T. rex of North America to showcase spectacular dinosaur discoveries from the Southern Hemisphere — South America, Africa, and Madagascar. Trace how the ancient supercontinent Pangaea gradually split apart, isolating these southern lands and setting the stage for some of the strangest, most gigantic dinosaurs ever to walk the earth. Journey from the earliest known dinosaurs of the Triassic Period through the fragmentation of the southern supercontinent Gondwana and discover how tectonic drift and evolution in isolation produced wildly different creatures from those found up north. The journey culminates in the Late Cretaceous, where the exhibition’s dinosaurs reveal how millions of years of separation shaped two distinct dinosaur worlds.

Special for this exhibition at the Minnesota State Fair: See real fossils from Minnesota spanning nearly two billion years, including our new State Fossil — a giant beaver found in St. Paul. Discover how Minnesota scientists continue to advance our understanding of life on Earth.

Fifteen fully articulated skeleton casts anchor the exhibit, including the fearsome Carnotaurus, the sail-backed Ouranosaurus, the plant-eating crocodile Simosuchus, and the towering southern predator Giganotosaurus, a carnivore even larger than its cousin, Tyrannosaurus rex. Alongside these dramatic casts, authentic fossils and touchable specimens bring you face-to-face with real prehistoric remains, while augmented reality “skin viewers” reveal what these dinosaurs may have actually looked like in life.

Designed for all ages, Ultimate Dinosaurs is packed with hands-on fun: a multiplayer continental drift puzzle, a microfossil sifting station, tactile bronze casts of claws and teeth, and large-scale reactive walls that respond to you as you explore. Whether you’re a lifelong dinosaur enthusiast or just looking for an unforgettable day at the Fair, this exhibition offers a fresh, science-driven look at prehistoric giants the whole family can dig into.

Enhance your experience with select pop-up talks by museum paleontologists, where you can meet Science Museum of Minnesota professionals and touch real fossils from the museum’s vault.

Free with fair admission.

Fossil Corner at the State Fair
2026-08-27 11:00 - 15:00, 2026-08-28 12:00 - 16:00, 2026-08-29 10:00 - 14:00, 2026-09-02 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-09-03 13:00 - 17:00, 2026-09-04 12:00 - 16:00 | North End Event Center – Minnesota State Fair, 1265 Snelling Ave. N., St. Paul, MN, 55108, United States
Get up close to the science behind the dinosaurs. Visit with paleontologists from the Science Museum of Minnesota at the Ultimate Dinosaurs exhibit at the North End Event Center. Explore real fossils from the museum collection — including dinosaur bones you can touch and Ice Age specimens from right here in Minnesota. Ask questions, hear the stories, and experience paleontology in action.

Free with fair admission.

Insider Science Tour: Anthropology
2026-09-04 16:00 - 17:00 | Science Museum of Minnesota, 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55102, United States
Seize this chance to not only see our Anthropology collection and meet the specialists doing the work. Tours are limited to 10 participants for a more personalized experience, so don’t wait to secure a spot for this one-of-a-kind opportunity.
