Minnesota Children's Museum to open site at Mall of America

Kids visiting the Mall of America this fall will have a new place to play — the Minnesota Children's Museum.

Mall and museum officials announced Wednesday that they will open a "pop-up" play space in 4,400 square feet of storefront on the north side of the mall's third level, making the museum's galleries and play spaces available to millions of visitors.

The pop-up will open in late September and remain open until January 2017, about the same time that the museum's downtown St. Paul expansion is expected to be completed. That project is about 90 percent toward its fundraising goal of $28 million and will break ground in October, museum officials said Wednesday.

Amid a backdrop of bouncing balls, Jill Renslow of the Mall of America and Dianne Krizan of the Minnesota Children's Museum said the partnership has a chance to continue well beyond January 2017.

"We are interested in the possibility," said Renslow, senior vice president for business development and marketing.

"That is something we are definitely open to discussing," said Krizan, president of the museum.

The pop-up space is near the mall's soon-to-be-completed expansion project, which includes a hotel, office tower and retail shops. It will be the third site for the museum in Minnesota, adding to the St. Paul headquarters and a Rochester satellite that is also looking to expand soon.

"Nobody knows play like Minnesota Children's Museum, so we are thrilled to offer this unique experience to the millions of guests who visit us each year," Renslow said.

The museum space will feature two exhibits at a time. The admission price has not been set, but will be free for Minnesota Children's Museum members. Krizan said the move to the mall will cost the museum about $500,000.

Museum officials said they began discussing the possibility of opening a site at the mall about a year ago as a way to augment operations during the St. Paul expansion. That expansion will dramatically remake the museum, adding about 9,000 square feet of space including a new cafe and a four-story glass addition to the museum's front that features a climber with slides and netting. Existing space will be reconfigured to add a skyway-level box office, move administrative offices and improve traffic flow throughout the building.

While the St. Paul museum will remain open for most of the 15-month project, it will be closed from September through December 2016. The mall site is a way to keep programming available to more people during that time, Krizan said.

James Walsh • 651-925-5041