It's MEA weekend, where students across the state get two school days off so their teachers can attend the Education Minnesota conference. The extra-long weekend means kids may start to get restless and bored. To keep them, and their adults, content, here's a list of activities and attractions to keep all ages amused without breaking the bank.
Movies
Check out Jack Black in "Goosebumps," opening this week. The film is an adaptation of R.L. Stine's bestselling children's books with mild scary thrills.
Get to know "Humpback Whales" via a movie featuring amazing underwater shots, showing on the gigantic screen at the Science Museum of Minnesota's Ominitheater, shown multiple times daily. Smm.org
For the teenage set that needs something with a little more action, Tom Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt in "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation" at local theaters.
Outdoors
Grab your work gloves and prepare to get plenty of fresh air at Oliver Kelley Farm for Harvest Days. Assist farmhands as they prepare for winter with harvesting crops and do field work. Make your own corn husk doll, play 19th century games and join in a quilting bee. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thu-Sun. Mnhs.org.
Jump into a pit filled with corn at Sever's Corn Maze and Fall Festival. Find your way through the firefighter themed maze, see a live show, blast a pumpkin out of a cannon or take a ride on a camel or a pony. Severscornmaze.com.
Travel back to 1900 rural Dakota County during the Harvest Moon Festival at Dakota City. Enjoy hands-on activities and demonstrations. Fri.-Sat. dakotacity.org.
Museums & Culture
The Minnesota Children's Museum is adept at getting the sillies out of youngsters. The new exhibit "Amazing Castle" allows guests to travel back in time for a royal adventure through imaginative play and problem solving. Crawl through the "Habitot" exhibit and learn about forests and wetlands in "Earth World." Mcm.org.
The Minnesota History Center is home to several interactive exhibits and daily activities. The recently opened "Suburbia" exhibit explores the reality of Twin Cities Suburbia with its ranch-style houses and cul de sacs. Ongoing exhibits include "Then Now Wow," "We Are Hmong Minnesota" and "Weather Permitting." Mnhs.org

The Science Museum of Minnesota's new exhibit, "Sherlock Holmes and the Clocktower Mystery," is an interactive short story that asks visitors to use their powers of deductive reasoning to reveal whodunit. The museum also just brought back "RACE: Are We So Different?" for an encore engagement. Smm.org

Wild Card
There's no denying that it's the season of things that go bump in the night. And moody teenagers are not in the mood for anything so not cool. The Anoka Haunted House is open for a frightening good time Thu.-Sat. anokahauntedhouse.com.