The Works: Hands-On, Minds-On Museum

http://www.theworks.org
5701 Normandale Road, Edina, MN 55424
952-848-4848

Hours: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm every Saturday

CLOSED July 4, 2009

10:00 am to 8:00 pm the second Tuesday of every month

Thursdays and Fridays, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, June 18 through September 4

The Works is a "hands-on, minds-on" museum that makes learning about engineering, science and technology interesting, understandable and fun. The Works' unique exhibits and educational programs are designed to delight visitors ages 5 to 15, demystify technology and inspire interest in the way things work. Come explore the exhibits and enjoy special family activities (activities change every month).

Exclusive Museum Adventure Pass Offers

- Visitors Receive a 25% discount on new family memberships
- Receive a limited edition "Museum Adventure Pass presented by Macy's" book bag when you purchase a membership on the day of your visit

Adventure Pass Exclusions

The Museum Adventure Pass is valid for General Admission only. It is not valid for group admission or special programs such as Girl Scout Events, Homeschool Days, or Birthday Parties.

Passes are limited to general exhibit admission only. Passes may not be applied towards educational and group tours. Special exhibitions and other attractions may not be covered, and other restrictions may apply.

Please visit http://www.theworks.org for specific exhibition information.

Learn more about it at your metro public library

All Ages

Robot Olympics
Victor Appleton, Aladdin, 2006
The New Way Things Work
David Macaulay, Houghton Mifflin, 1998
The Way Things Work: A Fact-Filled Encyclopedia and Project Book with over 1,600 Photographs, Illustrations, Cutaways and Diagrams
Lorenz Books, 2004
Ancient Machines: From Wedges to Waterwheels
Michael Woods and Mary Woods, Runestone, 2000
Big Learning Do-it-Yourself Projects: Hands-on Electricity, Physics, Architecture, and Technology
website: http://www.biglearning.org/treasureengineering.htm
Breaking Through: The Creative Engineer
website: http://www.eweek.org/site/nbm/intro.html
Canada Science and Technology Museum
website: http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/schoolzone/kidszone.cfm
Discover Engineering
website: http://www.discoverengineering.org
Information Technology Laboratory (The U.S. government and the Department of Defense)
website: http://itl.erdc.usace.army.mil/tech_kids.htm

Kids

Warthogs Paint: A Messy Color Book
Pamela Duncan Edwards, Hyperion, 2001
Dazzling Science Projects with Light and Color
Robert Gardner, Enslow, 2006
Gear Up: Marvelous Machine Projects
Keith Good, Lerner, 1999
Build It: Activities for Setting up Super Structures
Keith Good, Lerner, 1999
Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building
Deborah Hopkinson, Schwartz & Wade, 2006
The Optics Book: Fun Experiments with Light, Vision and Color
Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone, Sterling, 1998
Build It: Structures, Systems and You
Adrienne Mason, Kids Can, 2006
Building with Dad
Carol Nevius, Marshall Cavendish, 2006
Hard Hat Area
Susan Roth, Bloomsbury, 2004
Lever, Screw, and Inclined Plane: The Power of Simple Machines
Gare Thompson, National Geographic, 2006
Janice VanCleave's Physics for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments in Motion, Heat, Light, Machines and Sound
Janice VanCleave, Wiley, 1991

Tell Us About Your Adventure

If you visited The Works: Hands-On, Minds-On Museum, we'd love to hear about your experience.

Tell Us About Your Adventure!

Mar 14 '09 The Works museum was fabulous fun! I went with my two neices who are 7 & 8 yrs old. We built a castle in a room full of bricks, raced cars that we built, lifted eachother with pulleys, played with robots and so much more! My neices tried every activity and were laughing and smiling the whole time! What a great place to learn while having fun. Thanks!
Jan 31 '09 The Works was the most fun we've had in a long time! I was able to play with my kids in ALL the exhibits, and I found myself having fun, too! All the exhibits are amazing, including the bug-robots, the huge blocks, the light exhibits, and everything! I would surely return again- it was the best!!
Jul 11 '08 My two nanny kids thought that this was the best field trip we've taken (and we've done a lot!). At ages 10 and 6 they were able to do everything in the museum and were excited to learn how and why things worked. The 10 year old exclaimed, "I've always wanted to know how a zipper works!" when she saw the huge zipper display. I found it very interesting too! Even though it's smaller, there is enough to do even when it is busy.
Jul 11 '08 My husband, 4 kids and I spent 2 hours at this fun museum. One of The kid's favorite things was building houses with the foam blocks and then knocking them down. We will go back and visit again.
Jun 7 '08 This was a wonderful science and technology program and just the right size for our six and three year old boys!

Thank you very much for the opportunity to visit a new and exciting place!

The Austin's
Mar 15 '08 My husband and I had a great time when we brought our 4 year old daughter to The Works. I had not previously heard for the museum, but was looking for something different in the museum passes. My husband is an engineer and just loved showing our daughter the science and experiments at The Works and we all can't wait to go again!
Oct 19 '07 What a wonderful discovery! I often look for great things to do with kids and had never seen this one before the Macy's ads for it. The kids loved it-although they say it's for ages 5-12, I believe it is best enjoyed by the 3-8 range. It was like a mini science/kids museum right around the corner from us. Thanks!

Upcoming Events

June: Butterfly Chromatography

Explore chromatography as you watch colors separate in this experiment that's fun - and beautiful!

July: Constellation Viewers (not all July dates available, call for details)

Explore the stars in the night sky. Design your own constellation or copy an existing one, then turn off the lights and see your stars shine.

August: Mini Kaleidoscopes

Have fun exploring patterns and reflections with different kinds of mirrors, and make a mini kaleidoscope to take home.

SPECIAL EVENT

The ExploraDome is coming to The Works!

July 16, 17, and 18

Look at the stars from the Earth, the Earth from the stars, and travel through space in the cool comfort of a giant portable dome. Thanks to our friends at the Minnesota Planetarium, you can explore the edges of the universe without taking your feet off the ground.

Time: Shows will run approximately every half hour. The first show of the day will start half an hour after The Works museum opens, and the last show of the day will start half an hour before the museum closes.

  • Thursday, July 16- 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
  • Friday, July 17- 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
  • Saturday, July 18- 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Cost: Museum Adventure Pass is valid for museum admission only. Cost is $3 for each ticket to an ExploraDome show ($5 for each admission into The Works museum without a pass; no admission for children under three).

You are not required to do both, although we suggest it, of course! Members of The Works and of the Minnesota Planetarium will receive FREE admission to both the museum and the ExploraDome show.

The ExploraDome shows are not recommended for children under the age of three.

Click here to visit the Minnesota Planetarium's website and learn more about the ExploraDome.

SUMMER CAMPS

Whether your child is entering Kindergarten or 7th grade- The Works has a hands-on summer camp that is sure to delight them. Our youngest campers enjoy building magnet games, door buzzers, and flashlights while older kids explore alternative energy, architecture, and robotics.

Learn about all of our camps-- and register completely online-- www.theworks.org. Both half and full days camps are available.

Membership

Enjoy a full year of discovery, laughter and fun as you support "hands-on, minds-on" learning about science and engineering. A Household Membership costs normally $60 for one year, but if you purchase a new membership while visiting with a Museum Adventure Pass, you save 25% and receive a Museum Adventure Pass book bag (while supplies last). Benefits of membership include:

  • Unlimited visits to The Works' museum for your immediate family (two adults and kids 18 and under)
  • $1 off admission for guests (excluding group visits and workshops)
  • $10 off Summer Camp fees and $5 off Classes
  • 10% discount at The Works museum store
  • Advance information about events, camps and classes


Media sponsors:KARE 11  Star Tribune
Melsa.org