Things for teenagers to do in Minneapolis (St. Paul, Bloomington: how much, theater)

[suzy]

We will be In Minneapolis April 17-22 for a volleyball tournament. We would like to take the team, when they're not playing, out to see something while we're there. Any recommendations for places that would be quick to get to from the Marriot at the airport? The girls are 16.

[golfgal]

The Mall of America should pretty much cover it with a bunch of 16 year old girls I would think. . What kinds of things do the girls like to do other then Volleyball to help narrow down the choices?

[JenLee]

You could hop on the light rail and ride it to downtown Minneapolis and then possibly go to a play (such as at the Guthrie) from there. There are more live theaters here than anywhere else in the country after New York and Chicago; there are also many museums here, but they may be harder to get to with a whole group of teens. If you DO have transportation, the Science Museum and the state capital (both in downtown St. Paul) both are wonderful things for a group of teen girls to see.

One thing about the MOA you might like to know is that on weekends they have a rule about teens:

We welcome all youth to Mall of America®, however on Friday and Saturday evenings youth under 16 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older from 4 p.m. until close. One adult may supervise up to 10 youth. Anyone 21 years or younger should be prepared to show a driver's license, state identification card, passport, or Mall of America® employee identification card during the Parental Escort hours.

There is also an IKEA store right next to the MOA; and there is a large water park in that area too that the girls could all walk to.

[suzy]

Thank you! We will have transportation, but with the volleyball tournament, the times we play will determine where we can go an how mucht ime we'll have to sight-see. The light rail and the theater sounds great! Thanks for the infor about MOA on the weekends. Someone also told me there was ganga activity around the mall at certain times - is that true?

Suzy

[JenLee]

Gang activity around the Mall? Personally, I haven't heard of any; and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense in that area because of the higher security around there (to prevent that sort of trouble).

The MOA's rules concerning teens on weekends were put in place to prevent groups and gangs of teens from chasing away real shoppers.

I called someone who works out in that area and they told me that there is no more "gang" activity there than anywhere else. He told me he saw a small "gang" of Asian youth out there a couple of months ago who saw some of their "rivals" but that the only ones who were concerned about it were the 2 "gangs" -and the Bloomington police who were there right away and put a stop to any trouble before it started.

[suzy]

Thanks for checking that out. This is the first time most of the girls will have been to Minneapolis and they're excited to go. All of them have heard about MOA! That will definitely be one of our stops, but we wanted them to learn something about the city they were playing in - I think the state capital and the Museum of Science sounds great!

[MomsTn]

Make sure you have at least two days for the MOA, especially if your girls like to shop.
There's a lot to do there, and besides eating and shopping, they have a really nice aquarium inside.

If you have a chance to visit the capital, take the tour, it's free, and if you're lucky they'll have the upper staircase to the roof open, and you'll be able to go up on the roof and see the whole city.
It's a breathtaking view.
Make sure you take your camera.

Originally Posted by suzy

Thanks for checking that out. This is the first time most of the girls will have been to Minneapolis and they're excited to go. All of them have heard about MOA! That will definitely be one of our stops, but we wanted them to learn something about the city they were playing in - I think the state capital and the Museum of Science sounds great!

[suzy]

Thanks! That's a great way for the girls to "see" the city quickly! We'll be sure to take cameras!

[nick is rulz]

there were some problems with the Mall of America in its early days, but generally it goes without incident now and they were relatively minor given the amount of people it draws in. Its a safe shopping area.

[suzy]

The zoo/aquarium was recommended to us for something fun to do. How far from the Marriot airport area is that and what's the weather like in mid April? Besides the MOA, are there other shopping districts/areas within a half hour drive of the airport area that the girls would like?