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Elizabeth Baier

Children's Museum breaks ground on expansion project

Minnesota Children's Museum expansion project
The Minnesota Children's Museum is undergoing a $30 million expansion and renovation project in downtown St. Paul.
Courtesy Minnesota Children's Museum

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The Minnesota Children's Museum broke ground Wednesday on a major expansion and renovation project in downtown St. Paul. As part of the project, the museum launched a #PlayMoreMN campaign to promote the importance of play in children's lives.

Nichole Polifka, the museum's director of learning and impact, said many kids today are overscheduled and don't play as much as their peers 20 years ago. She said the campaign promotes the idea that play and learning can't be separated.

"Children are prewired to learn," Polifka said. "It's innate and it's in them, that interest and curiosity to know more and do more is a huge part of the biology, of their makeup, and what they need to do."

The museum will remain open during most of the expansion work, which is estimated to cost $30 million and run through early 2017. The museum has so far raised $28.5 million and continues to raise money to fund the project.