Minnesota’s official natural history museum greets you with a woolly mammoth — and only gets better from there. The Bell Museum, on the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus since 1872 and reborn in a stunning new building in 2018, tells the story of the universe and of Minnesota’s wild places in one sweep.
Its wildlife dioramas are legends of the art form — moose, wolves and cranes in painted Minnesota landscapes so lifelike you hold your breath. The Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Planetarium launches audiences across the cosmos, while the Touch & See Lab lets kids handle everything from snake skins to a 10,000-year-old fossil.
Outside, native plant gardens buzz with pollinators. The Bell is where Minnesota introduces itself to its own children — and the introduction is unforgettable.
