Mall of America

Posted by Anonymous on
                                         
 Today we ventured off to the Mall of America, inside Bloomington, MN. The kids have been so psyched to get to go here again. My Drizzle does not remember it, but my Princess did! This mall has it all. Over 520 stores and 50 restaurants, complimentary shuttles from Bloomington hotels and Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport plus with no tax on clothing and shoes, plus, the best part about the mall: Nickelodeon Universe theme park, with 24 rides include:
  • SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium
  • Moose Mountain Adventure Golf
  • LEGO
  • A.C.E.S. Flight Simulation
  • Theatres at Mall of America
  • American Girl
  • Amazing Mirror Maze
  • The Flying Dutchman Ghostly Gangplank Ropes and Adventure Course
  • Build-A-Bear Workshop



FUN FACTS ABOUT THE MALL OF AMERICA: 
  • Minnesota's Mall of America is the largest, fully enclosed retail and family entertainment complex in the U.S.
  • Seven Yankee Stadiums would fit inside Mall of America.
  • Mall of America’s 13,300 tons of steel is nearly twice the amount than in the Eiffel
    Kids with the Backyardigans
    Tower.
  • Walking distance around one level of Mall of America is .57 of a mile.
  • Spending 10 minutes in every store would take a shopper more than 86 hours to complete their visit to Mall of America.
  • More than 5,000 couples have been married at Mall of America since opening in August of 1992.
  • The Mall of America is located on the former Metropolitan Sports Stadium which was home to the Minnesota Vikings and Twins. Home plate can be found in Nickelodeon Universe as well as the original stadium seat the was hit by a home run
  • There are 30,000 live plants and 400 live trees planted in Nickelodeon Universe  
  •  It has its own zip code
  •  It draws 40 million visitors each year; more than Disney World, Graceland and the Grand Canyon combined. 
    • Who could resist a giant Sponge Bob?
  • It does not have a heating system. It relies on the heat from the lighting, the sunroof and all the people. 

MATH MALL OF AMERICA STYLE:

 So since we were at the mall, literally ALL day. I decided to get some fun facts about the mall that I could use to run a math lesson with. I know, I know, I am a horribly mom, but they did have some fun with it. Using the following list below they had to work out all sorts of problems and scenarios:

  • 4 out of 10 visitors to Mall of America are tourists
  • 4.3 miles of total store front footage
  • 7 Yankee Stadiums can fit inside the Mall
  • 24 rides and attractions in Nickelodeon Universe®
  • 32 Boeing 747s could fit inside the Mall
  • 65 semi trucks were needed to transport trees to the theme park to
  • 70 degrees create the outdoor feel of an indoor park inside Mall of America no
    A Carousel
    matter if it is spring, summer, winter or fall
  • 86 hours is the length of time it would take to complete your visit to the Mall if you were to spend just 10 minutes in each store
  • 258 Statues of Liberty could lie inside the Mall
  • 350+ events are held at Mall of America each year
  • 520+ stores are located in Mall of America
  • 5,000+ weddings have been performed at Mall of America
  • 11,000 year-round employees at Mall of America (13,000 during peak periods)
  • 12,550 on-site parking spaces at Mall of America in two ramps
  • 30,000+ live plants and 400 live trees climbing as high as 35 feet tall in Nickelodeon Universe
  • 32,000+ tons of trash recycled each year
  • 170,000+ Legos have been lost in the LEGO ® play area
  • 1.2 million-gallon aquarium at SEA LIFE Minnesota (formerly Underwater Adventures)
  • 4.2 million square feet of gross building area
  • 40 million visitors annually which is more than the combined populations of North
  • Bumper Cars
  • Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Canada
  • 130+ million number of rides in the park since opening
  • 650 million visits since opening cost to build
  • $650+ million Mall of America generates in economic activity annually for the state of Minnesota


Sports, Geography and History Mall Style
 Why The Red Chair in The Mall? 
Metrodome
"The Mall of America, which opened in 1992, stands on the site of what is now nostalgically called "the Old Met." A brass plaque in the shape of home plate, embedded in the floor in the northwest corner of Nickelodeon Universe, commemorates the site's days as a sports venue by marking where home plate once sat. Near the opposite corner, mounted high on the wall, is a red stadium chair denoting the precise landing spot (including elevation) of Harmon Killebrew's 520-foot (160 m) home run, a blast to the upper deck in deep left-center field on June 3, 1967. This was the longest homer Killebrew ever hit, and the longest ever hit in Metropolitan Stadium.Unlike the chair at the Mall, the Met's outfield seating featured green bleacher-style benches.
The History
Stadium Seat
For a time, there was talk of building a new park for the Twins on the old Met site that would be connected to the Mall of America. However, the terms of the agreement in which the land was sold to Triple Five Group, owners of the Mall of America, do not allow another stadium from being built on the site. Even without this to consider, the site is now directly in a flight path for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. " Wikipedia

 So of course, my kiddos had to hunt down the chair, home plate and locate the history of Harmon Killebrew as part of a scavenger hunt that was designed for them. Then they had to tell me the history behind each item and the importance. They loved searching everywhere, but they were not allowed to ask anyone were they were located. My youngest loved this the most and as you can tell from the bottom picture he spotted the red chair to go to next!


Kids standing at home plate








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