The Works
The Works is a museum in Minnesota, at a modelled elevation of 254 m. Bissel's Mound stands 307 m to the east-northeast, 23 miles off. The nearest named place is Maplewood Park, a park 0.6 miles away. Grand Rounds Scenic Byway passes 5.4 miles off. 6 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
The Works is an interactive children's museum in Bloomington, Minnesota that focuses on technology and engineering. The museum was conceived by Rebecca Schatz, a software engineer who was inspired by a visit to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, and by the hands-on technical education for children that she observed during a year as a Luce Scholar in Japan in 1984. The Works first opened as a gallery exhibition within the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota in 1995, then moved to a series of temporary locations in shopping centers and to the community center in Edina (Ridgedale - 1995–1997, Eden Prairie Center 1997–1999, Southdale 1999–2002, and Edina Cmty. Center 2003–2011), before finding a larger, permanent home with 40,000 square feet of space in Bloomington in 2011. In 2011 the museum reported annual attendance of 50,000 visitors. Since 2003, The Works has sponsored an annual "Tech Fest".
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dates from 1995.
Wikidata Q7775854, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
What to expect
How to reach it
- 5.4 mi off the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, National
- 6.4 mi off the Great River Road, National
- 23.2 mi off the St. Croix Scenic Byway
- 26.7 mi off the Minnesota River Valley Scenic Byway, National
Overlooks nearby
Named places within 25 miles
- Maplewood Park: 0.6 mi
- Vanderbie Park: 0.7 mi
- Gene C. Kelly Youth Playfield: 0.9 mi
- Harrison Picnic Grounds: 1.0 mi
- ValleyView Playfield: 1.0 mi
- Pond/Dakota house: 1.2 mi
- 1st Brigade Memorial: 1.7 mi
- Pinecone: 3.5 mi
- Northwest Airlines: 3.5 mi
- Richfield All Veterans Memorial: 4.2 mi
- Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge: 1.4 mi
- Wood Lake Nature Center: 3.4 mi
- Rudy Kraemer Nature Preserve: 4.2 mi
- Pilot Knob Preservation Site: 6.9 mi
- Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary: 7.0 mi
- Bloomington Historical Museum: 1.5 mi
- Richfield History Center and Museum: 3.5 mi
- Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center: 3.6 mi
- Northwest Airlines History Center: 3.8 mi
- Edina Historical Society Museum: 4.4 mi
- Normandale Japanese Garden: 2.2 mi
- South Loop Community Garden: 2.7 mi
- Neill Community Garden: 4.9 mi
- Kenny School Garden: 5.0 mi
- We Garden: 6.4 mi
- Convergence: 3.3 mi
- Minnesota Compass Rose: 5.3 mi
- South Mall Stage: 5.3 mi
- Snoopy at The North Star Flying Ace: 5.3 mi
- Thomson Reuters Main Mall Gallery: 5.3 mi
- The Izaak Walton League of America: 4.8 mi
- Ampitheater: 5.9 mi
- Eden Prairie Outdoor Center: 8.1 mi
- RipCord: 8.3 mi
- Delirious: 8.3 mi
- Bush Lake Beach: 4.6 mi
- Lake Nokomis Main Beach: 6.2 mi
- Snelling Beach: 6.2 mi
- Lake Harriet Southeast Beach: 6.2 mi
- Lake Nokomis 50th Street Beach: 6.4 mi
- Woodcrest: 4.1 mi
- Wabun G: 7.2 mi
- Picnic Glen: 7.2 mi
- Wabun F: 7.2 mi
- Wabun D: 7.3 mi
- Mount Gilboa: 4.1 mi
- Sky Hill Park Overlook: 4.7 mi
- Pilot Knob: 6.8 mi
- Norwegian Hill: 13.8 mi
- Seminary Hill: 17.2 mi
- Minnehaha Falls: 7.1 mi
- Hidden Falls: 7.3 mi
- Shadow Falls: 9.1 mi
- Hamm’s Memorial Waterfalls: 12.8 mi
- Phalen Regional Park Waterfall: 15.9 mi
- Minnehaha Falls: 7.1 mi
- West Clay Pit: 10.5 mi
- Middle Clay Pit: 10.6 mi
- East Clay Pit: 10.8 mi
- Sand Castles: 13.6 mi
- Coldwater Spring: 6.6 mi
- Boiling Springs: 6.7 mi
- Hajduk Spring: 9.6 mi
- White Worm Springs: 14.9 mi
- wayside rest: 11.4 mi
- New Market Rest Area - Southbound: 19.0 mi
- Elm Creek Rest Area: 21.6 mi
- St. Croix Rest Area: 24.5 mi
- Nininger: 19.3 mi
- San Francisco: 22.3 mi
- Point Douglas: 23.6 mi
- Lewiston: 24.3 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of The Works. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bissel's Mound | ENE 73° | 307 m | 23.1 mi |
| Norwegian Hill | N 9° | 293.522 m | 13.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:17 | 18:47 | 19:26 |
| June solstice | 05:28 | 20:18 | 21:04 |
| September equinox | 07:01 | 18:34 | 19:13 |
| December solstice | 07:48 | 15:47 | 16:36 |
Local time (America/Chicago).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: May–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 16 | 21 | 33 | 47 | 60 | 70 | 74 | 72 | 64 | 50 | 35 | 22 |
| Precip in | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Minneapolis-st Paul Intl AP, 5 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOfficial siteOpenStreetMap element way/296091148
Day trips start here
- Twin Cities · 9 mi
- Minneapolis · 11 mi
- Minneapolis/Southeast · 11 mi
Take the scenic way to The Works.
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