Staying here for MEA? These 7 family activities are as much fun for adults as for kids.

’Tis the season for visiting Minnesota’s myriad orchards and pumpkin patches, and getting outside to enjoy the crisp weather and fiery foliage.

But when you have kids who would rather be climbing an apple tree than harvesting its fruit, choosing active activities is a must. And if you’re staying here MEA weekend, here are a few of our favorite fall thrills for kids that are just as much fun for adults.

It’s a treat to pick apples and consume them as cider, in doughnuts or caramel-dipped. But you haven’t fully experienced the fruit until you’ve fired it out of a cannon. At Apple Jack Orchards in Delano, visitors load blemished apples into air-powered launchers, shoot them into a field where they explode into a satisfying applesauce mist. Only a few Minnesota orchards have fruit cannons and Apple Jack’s is one of the state’s most kid-focused with its rope course, corn maze, mega-slide and jumping pillow, as well as sand pits, corn pits and gaga-ball pits. 4875 SE. 37th St., Delano 763-972-6673, applejackorchards.com

If more people experienced Lutsen Mountains in the off-season, the North Shore would be as well-known for fall slides as it is for fall drives. Alpine slide riders take the ski resort’s chairlift up to the summit and then pilot a heavy plastic sled down a winding, half-mile concrete track. Kids under 48 inches tall ride on an adult’s lap, so be warned: If they’re controlling the hand break and let ’er rip, the corners and dips are quite a thrill. 467 Ski Hill Rd., Lutsen, 218-663-7281, lutsen.com

Any parent who has witnessed their toddler pounding fists on a glass case containing, say, an irreplaceable Qing dynasty jade carving, might hesitate to take them to another art museum. Unless it’s Franconia sculpture park near Taylors Falls, where most of the 100-plus outdoor artworks are not only touchable, but OK for climbing, swinging and even hosting a game of tag. Over MEA weekend, Franconia hosts hayrides and a scavenger hunt. 29836 St. Croix Tr., Shafer, 651-257-6668, franconia.org

At Big Stone Mini Golf in Minnetrista, the artist-designed course goes beyond the usual windmills and loop-de-loops. One golf hole is based off the game Pachinko, another’s beneath an upside-down ship’s hull and the biggest crowd-pleaser sends balls floating down a lazy river. After finishing the course, golfers can explore Big Stone’s adjacent sculpture park, play pingpong on the stone-topped table while dodging a few wandering goats. 7110 County Rd. 110, Ext. W, Minnetrista, 952-472-9292, bigstoneminigolf.com

For city kids who rarely see livestock outside of an annual visit to the Minnesota State Fair barns, Gale Woods Farm (located just down the road from Big Stone), can give them a hands-on education in where food comes from. Visitors to the working farm can watch a dairy cow get milked, pet sheep, crank a cider press or feed the cattle herd dropped apples. Adults can get some grocery shopping done at the on-site market that sells the farm’s meat, produce, honey and wool. 7210 County Rd. 110 W., Minnetrista, 763-694-2001, threeriversparks.org/location/gale-woods-farm