Monsters on Vacation Opens at the Minnesota Children's Museum — and It Is Built to Help Kids Feel Big Feelings
The Minnesota Children's Museum has opened Monsters on Vacation, an all-new world premiere exhibit running through Jan. 10, 2027, designed entirely by the museum to help young children build social and emotional learning skills through imaginative, hands-on play with friendly monster characters.
The Minnesota Children’s Museum is welcoming a new kind of summer guest.
Monsters on Vacation, an all-new special exhibit making its world debut in St. Paul, opened May 23 at the Minnesota Children’s Museum and runs through Jan. 10, 2027. Designed and developed entirely by the museum, the hands-on exhibit uses friendly monster characters and interactive activities to help young children build social and emotional learning skills in a playful, judgment-free environment.
What to Expect Inside
The exhibit is packed with imaginative experiences for kids of all ages. Highlights include Feed the Tree Monsters, where kids send foam fruit up a chute to fill hungry monsters’ bellies before it comes raining back down. The Monster Obstacle Course lets visitors step inside a monster fish jaw and navigate a wavy tongue and other obstacles. A Lifeguard Station invites kids to care for little monsters with bumps and scrapes using an exam table and monster X-rays on a light box.
The Underwater Dance Floor features an LED dance floor where kids can mix and match monster costume pieces and dance to music, while the Scream Booth offers a sound-reduced space for visitors to come in and let out a good monster-style scream. For the youngest visitors, the Octo-Tot Spot, nestled in the arms of a tentacled monster, is designed for children under three to crawl, climb, and build coordination skills.
Why It Matters
Research shows that young children have experienced a decline in the development of social-emotional learning skills, and the museum designed every element of this exhibit with that in mind.
“Social-emotional development is closely tied to learning and helps children build skills that will support them throughout life,” said Mary Weiland, senior exhibit developer and lead developer for Monsters on Vacation. “We wanted to create experiences that supported that by teaching and encouraging children to identify, express and manage their emotions.”
More Monster Fun All Summer
Beyond the main exhibit, the museum’s maker space is transforming into the Monster Puppet Studio in early June, where visitors can build their own monster puppet and put on a puppet show. The fourth-floor Landing will become the Monster Playground, an engineering-focused space where kids use PVC pipes, connectors, and other materials to build structures for mini monsters.
Monster-themed events are also on the calendar, including a Monster Party on June 6, a Monster Spa Day on July 18, and Monster Yoga on select Friday mornings. All events are free with museum admission or membership. Learn more at https://mcm.org/monster-events.
Visitor Information
Monsters on Vacation is presented by UnitedHealthcare with additional support from Candyland. Admission to the exhibit is included with general museum admission, which starts at $17.95 per person for ages 1 to 101. Museum members get in free. Tickets are available at https://mcm.org/tickets.