I grew up in the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant — Le Sueur, Minn., a stoplight-free town of about 4,000, surrounded by cornfields. My family often drove to nearby Mankato, about 10 times Le Sueur's size, to visit my fun Aunt Ann and experience some more metropolitan offerings, namely a Mexican restaurant and a big mall with a Maurices.
A few decades later, the mall and Mexican restaurant are gone, replaced by different versions, but Annie is still there and as fun as ever. A few years back, my young kids and I kicked off a new annual tradition of visiting her, and Mankato, for a couple of nights. I was initially surprised by the Minnesota River city's strong kid-friendly options, all new to me. At each yearly visit, we discover more things to do that are, sentimentality aside, far cooler than the sheltered consumerism and fried ice cream of my youth.
Kid favorites
Sibley Farm (1-507-387-8600), in a corner of 100-acre Sibley Park, has been a hit from Visit 1. We usually start with feeding the animals, including goats, sheep, alpacas and the cutest little potbellied pig ever, and taking in the beautifully landscaped koi pond. All quarters plugged into the feed machines go toward the menagerie's care and upkeep. Then it's on to the adjacent farm-themed playground, including a silo, chicken coop and other shiny red pretend-farm structures, plus a tractor and lazing pigs to scramble on. FYI, in the winter, the park hosts the Kiwanis Holiday Lights (1-507-385-9129), a walk- or drive-through experience with 1.5 million LED bulbs, plus a skating rink, Santa visits and reindeer at the farm. It's free, though nonperishable food and cash donations are happily accepted.
The Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota, which opened in 2015, was added to our itinerary this year (1-507-386-0279). Right away, I appreciate the big, open 12,000-square-foot space — I can look over the railing in the maker's loft, where my daughter works on the day's featured art project, and see Aunt Annie at the foot of the Tree of Forts Climber, trying to spot my son above. That fort is seriously incredible, a maze of rope tunnels, tubes and even a 17-foot suspension bridge, all connecting little room-forts that are tucked up into the ceiling. At the museum's faux quarry, which is lined in real local Kasota limestone, kids instinctively form teams to move giant blocks via conveyor belt and crane. The Grow It Gallery is similarly place-setting and cooperative, with a garden of stuffed crops to be harvested, then sold at the little farm market stand or cooked up in the spacious play kitchen. There's a dedicated toddler/infant fun zone styled like a farmhouse porch and ringed by a white picket fence, an outdoor farmyard with plant beds and animal pens, and more. It's clear within the first 30 minutes that we have ourselves a new Mankato must-do.
Finding common ground
My favorite kind of kid-friendly destination has something for adults, too. The happiness I get from seeing my kids enjoying themselves goes far, yes, but when we're all having fun? That's the dream, right there.
The CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour (1-507-387-1008) does a fine job of providing common ground. Every year since 2011, the city displays around 30 sculptures from artists in Minnesota and beyond. And every year, the People's Choice Winner is purchased and made a permanent part of the city's art collection. The sculptures are grouped along a mostly walkable downtown corridor. Take the audio version of the tour by dialing the phone number and stop number listed on each sculpture's placard. Among the sculptures we love: Treasure Tower, a colorful steel structure with beads to spin and little doors to open; and Pod Stop, made from repurposed road signs, with old tires to sit on.
Old Town, too, serves as something of a generational bridge. It's the original, historic two-story brick commercial district on Riverfront Drive, home to an intriguing mix of trendy, creative and classic businesses that are the hallmark of any neighborhood in transition — a tattoo parlor; a tea house; bike, salvage, record and comic book shops; a wine bar and a long-standing tavern with a new modern look.
In the "trendy" column is Old Town Escape, one of those places where you pay to be locked in a room with a bunch of other people, then solve a series of puzzles together to get out (1-507-779-7799).
