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CMSM Blog

Here on the CMSM Blog, we will share the latest happenings from the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, including behind-the-scenes exhibit builds, programming, upcoming events, Museum updates, and more!

CMSM Blog
Crystal Olson

National Learn about Butterflies Day

It’s National Learn About Butterflies Day! Spring is right around the corner. What an excellent time to take a few minutes to learn something new about butterflies! Butterflies and other pollinators play an important and vital role in our ecosystem! Here are a few things you can do to help support butterflies and pollinators in

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CMSM Blog
Crystal Olson

What’s new in the Loose Parts Play Hub this March

This month in the Loose Parts Play Hub you can play around with drawing portraits of yourself or those you came to play with. You can create silly faces with loose parts. Plus, you can get to know each other with some conversation cards! Here’s what you will find in the Loose Parts Play Hub

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CMSM Blog
Crystal Olson

Spotlight on Literacy Explorers

The Literacy Explores program at CMSM provides guests with child-led play experiences based around the five early literacy practices; sing, talk, read, write, and play! These early literacy practices start with what caregivers are already doing with their children and build from there. Spotlight on Early Literacy Practice: Write! – During Literacy Explorers, guests can

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CMSM Blog
Crystal Olson

What’s New in the Loose Parts Play Hub this February

Loose parts play embraces an unrestricted method of play by offering children an assortment of materials or objects that can be freely moved, manipulated, and combined in various ways. This unstructured approach stimulates children’s creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as they envision, design, and construct using the available materials. Here’s what you will find

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CMSM Blog
Crystal Olson

What’s New in the Loose Parts Play Hub this January

Loose parts play is an open-ended approach to play that involves providing children with a variety of materials of objects that can be moved, manipulated, and combined in a different way. The open-ended nature of loose parts play stimulates children’s creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as they imagine, design, and build using the materials

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CMSM Blog
Courtney Malone

Planting Common Milkweed

Planting Common Milkweed for Monarchs What to Know about Common Milkweed… Also known as Asclepias Syriaca and will grow to be 2’ to 4’ tall Produces lovely pink blooms for a good source of nectar for pollinators Milkweed is essential for the Monarch butterfly life cycle; it is their Host Plant! Monarch caterpillars feed exclusively

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Sandbox in the Dotson Back 40 at the Children's Museum of Southern Minnesota in Mankato
CMSM Blog
Courtney Malone

Warm Weather Sensory Activities

Sensory play is beneficial to children all year, and in the cold months of winter, making messes indoors feels worth it on some of the longer days. But summer provides the perfect opportunity to engage in sensory play with children, because you can take the messes outside! Sensory play not only captivates their imagination but

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Kitchen Science with Kids
CMSM Blog
Emily Heinis

Summer Cooking with Kids!

At the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota, we have three kitchens: the mud kitchen, the Cabin kitchen, and the play kitchen in the farm-to-table Grow It Gallery. These exhibits are always popular, because children love this kind of pretend play. Play kitchens are a particularly popular resource for pretend play, as it benefits children and

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Grow healthy and strong with the 5-2-1-0 steps
CMSM Blog
Mayo Clinic Health System

Grow Healthy and Strong With the 5-2-1-0 steps

By Michelle McDonough, M.D., family medicine physician in Mankato, Minnesota. Like a tablet with a low battery, or a car running low on gas, your body can run out of energy without its fuel and energy source — food. Just as a tablet needs the right cord to charge and a car requires the correct

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CMSM Blog
Courtney Malone

CMSM attends the Association of Children’s Museum Interactivity Conference

Bourbon Street & Beignets! The Association of Children’s Museum Interactivity Conference: Leveraging Our Voice, hosted by Louisiana Children’s Museum in New Orleans was held this past April. Participating with over 700 other professionals from around the world who work in the field were Heather Ungerer, Vice President of Operations and Kim Kleven, Vice President of

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Water Play at CMSM
CMSM Blog
Emily Heinis

Summer Fun Activities

The long-awaited first day of summer has arrived, bringing with it warmth, sunshine, and boundless opportunities for fun and adventure. As a parent or guardian, you might be wondering how to make this day extra special for your children. Fear not! In this blog post, we will explore some delightful ways to celebrate the first

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CMSM Blog
Emily Heinis

Butterfly House at the Museum

This is the Third Annual Opening of the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota’s Butterfly House! This seasonal exhibit just keeps getting better and better. Highlights this year include:  The exhibit will be open during Museum hours, and there will be a Program Coordinator or Playworker in the area to answer questions.  The Museum is participating

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