Anne's family finds the Firefighters Hall and Museum to be a great summer visit.
So it’s late July and you’re looking for a place to take the kids and cool off. Bet you’d never think of the Firefighters Hall & Museum in Minneapolis, huh? I never guessed my kids would leave soaked to the skin either, but they did and they had a marvelous time getting there. I should have realized what was going to happen when two of the volunteers who run the museum started filling up these cool, old-fashioned hand pumpers with hoses attached. And brought out the bucket of squirters. (And then totally left us to our own devices out back behind the building.) I think one-third of the kids’ aim went towards fighting fires on the “fire wall” display and the other two-thirds went squarely at each other.
Luckily, we’d seen a good chunk of the museum before the waterworks. I appreciated all the hands-on touches, such as the chance to:
- climb into a fire truck cab and operate the lights, tinker with the switches
- steer a ladder truck in a simulator
- pull an old fire alarm box and find out how the signal was received in re-created “Station 8″
- work an old fire station switchboard
- slide down the pole!
- try on firefighter duds
- And take a ride through the neighborhood on a real fire truck! (Make sure to eat your lunch at least an hour in advance. Really.) Currently, the website lists the rides as summer months only.
Birthday Parties at the Firefighters Hall and Museum
Birthday parties are scheduled for a 2-1/2 hour time block. Parties can can accommodate up to 100 people, however guests over the first 20 cost extra. Parties are scheduled for 10:00 am and 1:00 pm. on Saturdays. FB message or call the Museum and leave a message at 612-623-3817 to schedule a party or for more information.
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This article was originally written March 19, 2015
Anne's Review was added in July 2017
and details most recently updated September 10, 2019