Grandparents Minnesota Style. Mike Link

(and an orange one). Each is distinct and part of the romantic image of the railroad: the black engine roaring in from the distance, the bright red caboose inviting travel and adventure as the train chugs into the horizon.

      But as colorful as the cabooses are, it is the collection of engines and small trolleys that will really impress your grandkid. The bulk and the massiveness of the engines can’t help but affect any onlooker. In some instances, you and your grandchild can even climb into the cab and feel what it must have been like for an engineer to put his hands on the throttle of such a beast.

      What did they do about snow? You’ll find locomotive snowplows too. There are many more implements that tell us stories, such as the massive timber loader that cleared some of the forests around Crater Lake in Oregon or the steelworks ladle car that moved molten steel.

      There are passenger cars, mail cars and cars of all types, open for your family to step into and discover. Signs help you interpret the past, and models reduce the scale so you can see the big picture of railroading. The models also help the children visualize railroading and are important to their experiences. When it comes to trains, this museum truly has it all.

      Bonding and bridging:

      It’s hard for children to realize how important the railroad was in opening the West and in the commerce of Minnesota. Towns survived if the railroad came through and collapsed if it didn’t. This presents an opportunity for you to discuss actions and consequences. There are consequences for most things a grandchild does. Some consequences are good—such as getting an A after studying for a test. Some consequences are bad—like getting an F if she blows off her homework.

      Discuss examples of good and bad consequences your grandchild has experienced recently. Ask her what she would’ve done differently in those situations and how the consequences may have changed. When you do, you’ll help her learn to consider consequences before she makes important decisions.

      A word to the wise:

      Walk the avenue of Depot Square, where the Duluth community of 1910 is recreated. Window shop in the old Duluth Tent and Awning Company, J.L. Tronsdal Meat and Fish, and many more Main Street businesses. This is a wonderful look back at the turn of the century.

      Age of grandchild: All

      Best season: Summer (when you can walk outside and visit the harbor), but the Holiday trains are exciting for children as well.

      Contact: Lake Superior Railroad Museum, 506 Michigan Street West, Duluth, MN 55812 • [phone] • www.lsrm.org

      Also check out:

      End-O-Line Railroad Park & Museum, Currie; [phone]; www.endoline.com

      Minnesota Streetcar Museum, Minneapolis; [phone]; www.trolleyride.org

      Minnesota Transportation Museum: Jackson Street Roundhouse, St. Paul; [phone]; www.mtmuseum.org

      Minnesota Transportation Museum: St Croix Valley Rides, Osceola, WI; [phone]

      Few things are more delightful than grandchildren fighting over your lap. DOUG LARSON

      Great Lakes Aquarium

      We live in the land of lakes—close to fifteen thousand of them—as well as ponds, swamps, bogs, marshes and the greatest of the Great Lakes. But what do we know about our lakes? We know we can fish, swim, boat, take pictures and build cabins. Look at the water’s surface, and what do you see? Reflections of the sky, the shoreline and yourself. But for as much time as we spend on our lakes, we know very little about what is in them.

      Filled with exotic animals like mudpuppies and eelpouts, the aquarium also features birds, turtles and snakes. You can even see the notorious Sea Lamprey!

      There is a section of the aquarium devoted to the story of the Great Lakes, and the aquarium is filled with wonderful information that you will not find anywhere else. It is currently Minnesota’s only large-scale aquarium, and it has some essential information for understanding the Great Lakes.

      The shapes and relative elevations of these lakes are well represented, thanks to the Great Lakes Water Table. It’s a real playfest for your grandchild, as he moves floating toy boats through a model of the lakes. Add a few of your own observations to his fun, while learning some new facts yourself.

      The main floor features changing aquatic displays that often depart from the freshwater realm, with such exhibits as the Abyss: a combination of aquaria, film and displays. There is also a river otter display and two large, two-story tanks of freshwater fish.

      But that’s not all. Your grandchild can also touch real stingrays and sturgeons, watch the sea creatures being fed, meet Bogey the Bald Eagle (who has a wing injury preventing him from returning into the wild) and much more.

      We love Minnesota for a lot of reasons. The Great Lakes Aquarium is the place to celebrate one of them.

      Bonding and bridging:

      The Great Lakes Aquarium lifts the curtain on one of childhood’s mysteries, revealing a hidden world that lies beneath the water’s surface. Suddenly, we’re snapped into an awareness that there are things around us which we never before noticed.

      The possibilities that come with this realization are almost endless. You can use your time to discuss how our actions affect the environment—how we must be stewards of the land to save these fish habitats from pollution. Share how factories located hundreds of miles away may discharge harmful chemicals that travel to our region in air currents. These chemicals then fall into our lakes as acid rain, killing plankton that small fish feed on, thereby killing the small fish, which in turn depletes the food supply for larger fish.

      The overall message here is a big one: Just because we can’t see something doesn’t mean it won’t have a huge impact on our lives or on the environment around us.

      A word to the wise:

      Everyone loves the action when the big fish are fed. The fish become more active, we can see them use their fins and tails, and they interact more with one another. Feeding times are posted, and each is hosted by a narrator.

      Age of grandchild: All

      Best season: Summer (because you can combine the visit with so many harbor experiences)

      Contact: Great Lakes Aquarium, 353 Harbor Drive, Duluth, MN 55802 • [phone] • www.glaquarium.org

      Also check out:

      Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley; [phone] or [phone]; www.mnzoo.org

      Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium (Mall of America), Bloomington; [phone]; www.visitsealife.com/minnesota

      The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent. SAM LEVENSON

      Bentleyville