Built at the turn of the century, the house that shelters the American Swedish Institute features wonderfully eclectic details and intriguing chateau-like architecture. Inside, ornamental plasterwork, festive tiling, and a magnificent staircase display Swedish style. The organization's goal is to preserve Swedish culture in the United States, and the institute plays host to a series of concerts, recitals, films, and lectures, along with courses and festivities ­ all linked to Swedish history. House tours are available.

EAST MINNEAPOLIS. Dedicated to Minnesota's past, especially in regard to landscape and wildlife, this museum features dioramas that simulate actual forests, fields, streams, and swamps. The Touch and See Room provides real animal fur and bones that children love to handle, and rainforest exhibits and botanical artwork also please visitors. In addition, the museum store is rich in hard-to-find books and resources on natural history, including a great selection of children's books.

ROGERS. You can't miss the Model-T sign that points the way to this car museum, located just off Interstate 94. The museum contains over 100 vintage vehicles, ranging from classic cars to motorcycles. The museum also has a gift shop, along with Clarabelle's Ice Cream Parlor, a '50s-style hangout that serves awesome shakes and malts when the museum hosts car shows during the season.

UNIVERSITY. This museum's on-campus building was designed by architect Frank Gehry to house the university's extensive art collection. A work of art in and of itself, the building is a series of irregular angles and stacked cubes covered in metal. The interior is restful and contemporary, an ideal setting for viewing visiting exhibitions and the university's collection of 20th-century American art.

ST. PAUL. Fort Snelling, an example of living history, was built in the 1820s in an effort to exert a military presence in the area. Located on bluffs high above the convergence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, Fort Snelling remains a well-preserved historic landmark, largely because it was never attacked. Tour the jail and guardhouse, blacksmith and provisions shops, hospital and school. The Fort Snelling History Center features exhibitions and a gift shop.