My kids and I love to have Saturday adventure days while dad is at work. Today’s Saturday adventures took us to Minneapolis Institute of Art with a special breakfast at Maria’s Cafe beforehand.
Maria’s Café
Maria’s café has been a favorite for my husband and I long before we had kids. This authentic Colombian restaurant has a local neighborhood vibe. We fell in love with their cachapas (corn pancakes topped with cotija cheese) and strong black coffee. Another favorite is their special quesadilla.
My kids were over the moon about the fact that you can add all sorts of different fruit to their giant pancakes. My son loves mango so he ordered a mango pancake and a mango juice. The kids also loved their activity placemats because they offered a lot more than just coloring. This kept them very entertained until the food came!
I will say that if this is your first time going to Maria’s, it’s a bit hard to find the entrance because you have to walk through the Ancient Trader’s Market building to find the door. By following the signs you will find it and the kids will have fun following the bear paws on the concrete floor.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
The admission is always free at this art museum! We did have to pay for parking ($15) in the garage but you could probably find cheaper street parking if you look. I believe there is a 2 hour free parking on the street as well, I just didn’t want to be rushed.
On Saturdays at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts they have Art Play! activities for kids in the studios. They offer a variety of different activities for this such as coloring with pastels or making sculpture art. The day we went it was coloring with crayons. My kids and I had a lot of fun coloring with different paper than we have at home. We got creative by making paper fortune tellers and folding paper like I used to send notes to friends in the 90’s. Sometimes a simple activity such as coloring with crayons can be a lot of fun just by switching up the environment and removing the distractions you might have at home.
The museum itself has a little café, a store, and a family play area that my kids played really well in. They actually wanted to go back to the playroom at the end of our visit because they enjoyed it so much. The space lent itself toward imagination play because it wasn’t saturated with too many toys. My 4-year-old and 6-year-old enjoyed it.
There are three floors of exhibits with elevators that made it convenient for us with a stroller. The other thing my kids loved was that they provided a scavenger hunt activity. They were on a mission to find the items on the list throughout the exhibits! Be sure to turn in your completed scavenger hunt at the front when you leave for a post card souvenir from the museum.
I hope this helps guide you on a fun Saturday adventure in Minneapolis with kids! You can call this itinerary Maria’s & MIA.
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