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I was interested in the educational aspect. My children were in it for the fun.
"Look, I'm going to whack this ball like Sergio Garcia," shouted the 8-year-old as he swung his golf club back and almost hit his little sister in the head. His ball flew into a channel of flowing water filled with sand. Not exactly the move of a champion. But, boy, he was having a good time.
I took the family to the nine-hole EarthScapes Mini Golf course at the Science Museum of Minnesota. It's the centerpiece of the museum's fenced outdoor space, The Big Back Yard, which was built in 2004 alongside Shepard Road on the banks of the Mississippi River.
The golf course offers lessons in how rain, runoff and rivers change the landscape. We whacked our golf balls down a concrete slope molded to look like the eroded canyons and gullies of Badlands National Park. We temporarily lost a ball in the churning pool of water at the bottom of a miniature dam. We teed off at the mouth of a huge metal drain pipe and putted through a gutter to a front yard. Along the way, we learned about storm water runoff and the concept of the hydraulic jump.
I read all the text and found it quite interesting, but much of it was lost on my two sons, ages 8 and 6, who were more intent on keeping score. I was happy to find that I wasn't the only parent with less-than-attentive kids. Brian Olson of Shoreview golfed behind us with his daughter Laura, 7. He was reading while she was happily chasing her ball.
"I think this is really creative," said Olson, who had taken time off work to kick off summer vacation with his daughter. "You can learn along the way. I've been reading everything out loud even if she's not always listening."
After our round of golf, which took less than an hour, we explored the other outdoor exhibits. There is a solar-powered house, an American Indian medicinal herb garden and a huge sandbox with running water, which allows kids to dig in and create dams and river
The space has been designed to minimize water runoff. Rainwater gardens, essentially large shallow pits planted with native wetland species, catch rain that runs off the golf course. Prairie plants on the southern slope minimize erosion.
The only drawback is cost. If I hadn't had a discount, we would have spent a whopping $54 for two adults and three children, and one of them was a toddler who got in free. Add parking, and it would hit $60 for a single round of golf.
One way to make it affordable is if your family already has a museum membership or if you take advantage of the after-5 p.m. discount. On a weeknight, my husband and the kids met me downtown after work and two adults and two paying kids golfed for $18. We parked for free on the street (downtown meters aren't enforced after 4:30 p.m. or on Sundays) and then walked to Harriet Island for our picnic dinner.
On a different morning, we brought a lunch and ate at one of the half dozen picnic tables in the Big Back Yard. We watched paddleboats on the river and the trains that rumbled past on the other side of a fence. Afterward, the boys raced up and down the paths in the nearby prairie maze. Right now, the plants are about two feet tall, but they'll be six or seven feet by the end of summer vacation. We'll have to come back then for another round of golf.
Maja Beckstrom can be reached at
FAMILY OUTINGS / THE SCOOP
What: Miniature golf in the Big Back Yard at the Science Museum of Minnesota
When: 8:30 a.m. to dusk (about 9 p.m. this month) daily. Closes for season on Aug. 29.
Where: 120 West Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul
Cost: One round is $4.50 for adults and $3 for children ages 4-12, plus regular museum admission of $11 for adults and $8.50 for children ages 4-12 and seniors 60 and older.
Information: 651-221-9444 or smm.org
Target audience: Families who want to combine fun and learning
Crowd pleaser: Whacking the ball over the hydraulic jump
Avoid: Paying full price. Take advantage of the after-5 p.m. discount, when a round of mini-golf only and entrance to the Big Back Yard (no admission to museum) costs $5 for adults and $4 for children (4-11) and seniors.
TIP: Bring lunch or dinner and eat at one of the picnic tables
GREEN GREENS AT WALKER ART CENTER
Golf isn't known as the most environmentally friendly sport. But the Walker Art Center turns that notion on its head this summer. To honor the 20th anniversary of the Walker's Sculpture Garden, the museum invited local artists to design golf holes on the theme of going green.
Two temporary mini golf courses are open for play through Sept. 7 where the former Guthrie Theater was located. Kids will enjoy whacking the ball around, and grown-ups will like the concepts. At the "Water Hazard" hole designed by Alchemy Architects of St. Paul, for example, players putt across recycled carpet through a forest of water bottles dangling on ropes. And, at "Paul & Teddy" by artist Andrew MacGuffie, golfers maneuver the ball past a 12-foot-tall Paul Bunyan cutout and up a ramp into the mouth of Theodore Roosevelt, granddaddy of our national parks.
The course is at 1750 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis. Golf only is $8 for adults and $5 for children younger than 12. It's open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday (weather permitting) and on Labor Day
