Gooseberry Falls State Park
Minnesota’s Gooseberry Falls State Park is called the “Gateway to the North Shore” (of Lake Superior). The park is located in northeast Minnesota along Lake Superior. Established in 1937, Gooseberry Falls State Park is renowned for rushing waterfalls, Agate Beach, the Picnic Flow lava bed, the Gooseberry River gorge, the Lake Superior shoreline, and the incredible wildlife of the north woods. Nearly 600,000 visitors make their way to the 1,675-acre park each year, making it one of Minnesota’s top natural attractions.
Home to the Cree, Dakotah, and Ojibwe tribes at different times, Gooseberry River was “discovered” by the French around 1670. Fishing and logging were the principal industries until conservationists began to worry that the natural resources of the area would be permanently destroyed. State park status offered protection and in the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps was assigned to the park. Many of these log and stone structures built by the CCC are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Gooseberry Falls consist of the Upper, Middle, and Lower Falls of the Gooseberry River. There are five waterfalls total within the park from north of Highway 61 to Lake Superior. Gooseberry Falls State Park offers picnic areas, camping, and fishing (on the river and in Lake Superior). Trout and Lake Superior salmon are the top catches of the area. The scenic trails run along the Gooseberry River and through the forests of aspen, birch, pine, and spruce. There are 12 miles of hard-packed biking trails, 18 miles of hiking trails with spurs to waterfalls and scenic overlooks, 15 miles of groomed cross country ski trails (with a warming house), and 2 miles of snowmobile trails.
Wildlife enthusiasts will marvel at the wildlife. Over 225 species of birds have been sighted in Gooseberry Falls State Park. In the spring and fall, migratory birds travel through the area, which is part of the North Shore Flyway. Over 46 different species of animals have been seen, including white-tailed deer, black bears, and gray wolves.
The Joseph N. Alexander Visitor Center at Gooseberry Falls State Park is open year round and offers interpretive programs of the history, wildlife, and geology of the North Shore, as well as a gift shop.
Mall of America
The largest retail and entertainment complex is the 4.2 million square foot Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Since its opening in 1992 at the former site of the home of the Vikings and Twins (Met Stadium), the Mall of America has revolutionized the mall experience by combining shopping with entertainment, education, banking, and more. Called a city within a city, the Mall of America features National American University, the first college with a campus in a mall. The Chapel of Love Wedding Chapel has been host to more than 4,000 marriages since its opening. Over 4.000 people are registered in the Mall of America’s mall walker club. Mall of America is home to over 520 shops, The Park at MOA - the nation's largest indoor amusement park, Underwater Adventures Aquarium -featuring a 1.2 million-gallon aquarium, a 14-screen movie theater, and more.
The Mall of America has become a tourist destination for people from all over America and the world, who come to Minnesota specifically for the mall. It is estimated that some 40 million visitors congregate at the Mall of America each year. This makes it not only Minnesota’s top attraction, but one of the top attractions in the United States.
The Mall of America has been featured in movies such as “Jingle All the Way” and “The Mighty Ducks”. It has been the subject of nationwide programs and documentaries. Each year, the Mall of America hosts upwards of 350 events, many involve big-name celebrities.
With anchor tenants such as Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Sears, and Macy’s at each corner, the rest of the 500-plus shops surround the amusement park located in the middle of the mall. The mall contains four levels.
The shops at the Mall of America, the Park at MOA, and the Underwater Aquarium are open year round and most are closed on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Science Museum of Minnesota
The Science Museum of Minnesota seeks to provide the opportunity for people to experience the changing world through science. Founded in 1907, this popular museum is located in St. Paul, Minnesota on the banks of the Mississippi River. The museum offers research and collection facilities, a public education center, and an IMAX theater. The museum is one of Minnesota’s most visited attractions.
In 1906, a group of businessmen from St. Paul, led by Charles W. Ames, proposed a series of lectures on issues such as hygiene and sanitation. With financial backing, the St. Paul Institute of Science and Letters began. (Later it became the Science Museum of Minnesota.) In the century since, the museum has continually outgrown its space and has moved several times. The Science Museum of Minnesota was a pioneer in the use of live theater performances as an educational tool. To that end, it offers training to science educators to implement innovative science teaching.
The Science Museum of Minnesota offers the Big Back Yard, a seasonal outdoor gallery featuring earthscapes, miniature-golf, and more. Other top exhibits are Science on a Sphere, The Mississippi River Visitor’s Center, The Collections Gallery, Dinosaurs and Fossils Gallery, Experiment Gallery (featuring hands-on interactive activities), Human Body Gallery, Science Buzz, and the Mississippi River Gallery. The museum also features the first convertible dome Omnitheater, and 3D cinema. The museum also offers education programs for children and adults. Gift shop, a café, snack shop, and coffee shop.
The St. Croix Watershed Research Station provides continuous discoveries in the in the areas of anthropology, biology, paleontology, and environmental science. The main areas of the collections are archaeology and ethnology; mammalogy, entomology, and ornithology; vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology; and river and stream ecology and watershed biology. There are over 1.75 million artifacts and specimens in the collection at the Science Museum of Minnesota.
The Science Museum of Minnesota is open daily year round and is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and usually for one week in September for maintenance.